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Occupational Therapy Insights


Feb 25, 2021

Musculoskeletal pain is a complex and multifactorial phenomenon and treatment requires an individualized multidisciplinary approach that addresses biopsychosocial influences and empowers people with shared decision- making. Increasingly evidence-based non-pharmacological treatments options are being integrated with standard care as part of a person-centered approach (Lin et al., 2020; Manchikanti et al., 2020).
The paradigm shift to an evidence-based multidisciplinary approach presents an opportunity for massage therapists to collaborate with other healthcare professionals to improve a patient’s health and treatment outcome. With respect to the multidisciplinary treatment of pain, massage therapy has a desirable safety profile, and it is a health care option that has been shown to be effective for many persistent pain syndromes (Skelly et al., 2020). What is often not appreciated is that several clinical practice guidelines and systematic reviews support the use of massage therapy for patients suffering from a whole host of conditions including but not limited to back pain, tension-type headaches, temporomandibular joint disorder, carpal tunnel syndrome, and plantar heel pain.