Dear friends and colleagues,
This is a very special issue for us. In this and upcoming issues of JMS we will discuss one of the more critical topics for massage practitioners: controlling the pain-analyzing system. This is the first critical step in any successful somatic rehabilitation.
We started this issue from a collection of letters you, our readers, have sent to us and we greatly appreciate your feedback and encouragement.
Our Persons of the Month are Professors R. Melzack and J. Katz, two world-leading scientists on pain. Recently, a very troubling tendency developed in the field of somatic rehabilitation, es-pecially among massage therapists. More and more practitioners started to incorrectly interpret Prof. Mezlack’s and Prof. Katz’s outstanding scientific achievements, especially concerning the Neuromatrix Theory of Pain. This is why we asked the professors for additional clarification re-garding the Neuromatrix Theory of Pain and its predecessor, the Gate-Control Theory of Pain, which was developed by Professors Mezlack and Wall in 1965.
As usual, at the end of the year we ask you to choose the Winner of Case of the Month contest from four contributors. Please go over these articles and vote for the one you consider the most educational to you as a practitioner. The winner will get a $500 check and a certificate.
First article in the Medical Massage Section “Science Behind The Neuromatrix Theory Of Pain,” written by Dr. R. Turchaninov and B. Prilutsky, MA, LMT, we offer a correct reading and scien-tific explanation of one of the major publications on Neuromatrix Theory by Professors Mezlack and Katz. As a follow up, JMS has published a personal letter from our Editor in Chief addressing the same issue.
The second article in the Medical Massage Section, “Movement Impairments Of The Scapulotho-racic Region. Scapular Downward Rotation Syndrome” is an excellent clinical piece by Jeffery B. Wood, LMT. The JMS has also provided video illustrations for this article.
The Case of the Month, “Medical Massage vs Sports Injury,” is contributed to us by Cory Fairchild, LMT. We think this contribution greatly illustrates the role of medical massage in the athlete’s rehabilitation and its difference from sports massage.
As usual, you will find a lot of helpful information in the Good Apples/Bad Apples section of JMS.
Sincerely,
Dr. Ross Turchaninov,
Editor in Chief
Category: Letter From The Editor