1 / 6

Facilitators & Barriers to an Evidence-Based Massage Therapy Program for Elite Paracycling Athletes

Investigating factors aiding or hindering the implementation of a specialized massage therapy initiative for decentralized elite paracyclists to enhance performance and recovery. This study identifies facilitators like enthusiastic therapists and dedicated research support, and barriers such as communication gaps and logistical challenges. Future implications include the need for therapist education in research and health considerations.

deanda
Download Presentation

Facilitators & Barriers to an Evidence-Based Massage Therapy Program for Elite Paracycling Athletes

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Facilitators and Barriers to Implementing an Evidence-based National Massage Therapy Program for Elite Paracycling Athletes Ann Blair Kennedy, LMT, DrPH and Jennifer L. Trilk, PhD APHA Annual Meeting November, 2, 2015 Session 3048.0 Roundtable discussion This study was funded by the American Massage Therapy Association

  2. Background • Evidence for massage therapy benefits for able-bodied athletes • No evidence for massage therapy benefits for disabled athletes • Team Roger C. Peace has paracycling athletes around the country • Program creation paper published* Purpose: To investigate the facilitators and barriers to implementing an evidence-based massage therapy program with a team of decentralized athletes. *Kennedy AB, Trilk JL. A Standardized, Evidence-Based Massage Therapy Program for Decentralized Elite Paracyclists: Creating the Model. Int J Ther Massage Bodyw. 2015;8(3):3-9.

  3. Methods • Identified athletes with established therapists • National locator service used to identify massage therapists with 5 years of experience and sports massage listed as a modality • Contacted potential massage therapists by telephone • Therapists trained in study protocols • Therapists and athletes work together to schedule sessions • Research staff disseminate program forms via REDCap

  4. Updated Results Therapist Recruitment Program implementation 7 Web conferences and 1 in-person training for therapists Scheduling difficulties Transportation problems Tech issues • 35 therapists contacted • 16 did not return phone calls • 2 did not have accessible spaces • 2 not interested in research or taking notes • 3 could not accommodate study schedule • 2 not in athlete area • 10 therapists joined the program • Therapist Private Facebook page

  5. Discussion • Facilitators • Excited athletes • Enthusiastic and dedicated therapists who are flexible, adaptive, and creative • Dedicated research team • Committed coaching staff • Social media interaction for therapists • Athlete social support systems • Barriers • Lack of communication • Accessibility • Lack of desire to participate in research • Lack of desire to keep therapist notes • Athlete’s health conditions/lack of transportation • Busy athlete schedules • Athletes changing living location • Technical issues

  6. Current Project Status Future Implications Therapists need more education on research and documentation Consideration of health conditions and transportation issues Implementation monitoring is essential • Changes in team – 8 of 10 athletes are currently participating in program • As of September 28th, a total of 78 massages had been given • Continued monitoring of program and recruiting and training therapists as needed

More Related