Efficacy and Safety of Massage for Osteoarthritis of the Knee: a Randomized Clinical Trial.

Background: Current treatment options for knee osteoarthritis have limited effectiveness and potentially adverse side effects. Massage may offer a safe and effective complement to the management of knee osteoarthritis.

Objective: Examine effects of whole-body massage on knee osteoarthritis, compared to active control (light-touch) and usual care.

Perceptions of Massage Therapists Participating in a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Clinical practice and randomized trials often have disparate aims, despite involving similar interventions. Attitudes and expectancies of practitioners influence patient outcomes, and there is growing emphasis on optimizing provider-patient relationships. In this study, we evaluated the experiences of licensed massage therapists involved in a randomized controlled clinical trial using qualitative methodology.

Pilot study of massage in veterans with knee osteoarthritis.

Objectives: To (1) assess the feasibility and acceptability of Swedish massage among Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care users with knee osteoarthritis (OA) and (2) collect preliminary data on efficacy of Swedish massage in this patient group.

Design: Experimental pilot study.

Setting: Duke Integrative Medicine clinic and VA Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina.