Massage & Fitness Magazine, a science-based magazine focused on massage therapy and fitness, went public with its pilot issue yesterday. Within a few hours, we received our first review from Working Well Resources and it's a great one!
I say "we" because I'm one of the contributors. Managing editor Nick Ng, who has put a tremendous amount of work into this, asked me to write an article on prenatal massage [p. 15] and, in particular, to lay to rest a couple of myths that continue to circulate in the massage therapy community. I also covered some things we can say with confidence about prenatal massage.
True to its commitment to being compatible with science, Nick insisted that I have citations to support what I said and I was happy to comply. Our goal is to be a resource you can trust. You are not going to find unsupported and implausible claims in this magazine. In fact, at the end of most articles you'll find bibliographies that list our references so you can check out these sources for yourself.
Nick has gathered a stellar list of contributors for this magazine. [p. 6] Ravensara Travillian, for example, is a massage therapist in Seattle who has a Ph.D. in medical informatics, the study of information science. She has worked on a huge anatomy taxonomy project to gather all the known information about anatomy in one place and was invited to speak at the first Pain Summit in San Diego this past February. When Ravensara speaks, she knows what she is talking about and has a gift for explaining the complex in a manner that you don't have to be a scientist to understand. Her article on touch and why it's important looks at what animal behavior can teach us about touch. [p. 8]
Keith Eric Grant, Ph.D., is another contributor who is well-known in massage therapy forums. Keith is a working physicist and I often call him our "resident scientist" in MT forums. Keith can always be counted on to provide clear, accurate information when any subject involving physics comes up. In our pilot issue, Keith contributed an article on the physics of being able to continue to walk upright while adapting to a changing body during pregnancy. [p. 35] It's something I never thought about, but Keith has made it fascinating! Other articles cover the changing face of massage therapy education [p. 20], some mnemomics for learning anatomy [p. 44], and more.
The magazine addresses both massage and fitness, so there is a very useful article on exercise during pregnancy. [p. 26] There is also a link to a free, science-based course on nutritional supplements [p. 47] and a free, downloadable pain science workbook by Greg Lehman, PT. [p. 48]
The website is still a work in progress and refinements still need to be made. For instance, I'm not able to link to specific article except the "About" page, so I've listed page numbers for your easy reference. For now, the magazine can only be read on laptops and desk computers. Since we're operating on almost no budget and the ability to be read on mobile devices costs extra, we're not there yet. However, as soon as revenues permit, the magazine should be able to be read on mobile devices, too. The pilot issue is free; future issues will require a subscription. Advertising is available and anyone interested should contact Nick. Space is limited and we're going to be picky. Advertising should be compatible with the goals of the magazine. The pages will not be filled with ads for questionable products or classes.
Science-based therapists have been frustrated with the "anything goes" policies of some of our publications. It's exciting to have a magazine devoted to massage that has a commitment to being evidence-based. The first issue looks and reads beautifully. It's intelligent yet very readable, visually appealing, and the articles are interesting and useful. It promises to be a valuable contribution to the fields of massage therapy and fitness.
We hope you'll check it out and share it with your friends. "Like" our FaceBook page, Massage & Fitness Magazine. Help us get the word out.
Thanks!