IMTRC: Addressing the Opioid Epidemic with Massage Therapy
Research

IMTRC: Addressing the Opioid Epidemic with Massage Therapy

Author(s): Robert Kerns, Eric Schoomaker, Heather Tick

2CE credits 7 Lessons Video

As the United States struggles with an epidemic of opioid use and its devastating effects on lives, society and the economy, it's important to consider the role massage therapy can play in pain management. Hear from leading experts as they discuss integrative strategies to address the current opioid crisis, and the innovative research on the horizon.

The Massage Therapy Foundation’s International Massage Therapy Research Conferences are designed to bring together an engaged community of thought leaders, educators, therapists, and allied health practitioners to discuss massage therapy research.  This session was originally presented in 2019.  For more information, please visit the Massage Therapy Foundation.

At the conclusion of this session, attendees will be able to:

  • Describe the current state of the opioid crisis
  • Identify integrative strategies being used to address the opioid crisis
  • Discuss outcomes of current research on alternative therapies
  • Infer future direction for research on integrative therapies as an alternate to opioids

  1. IMTRC Opioid Panel - Video 1
  2. IMTRC Opioid Panel - Video 2
  3. IMTRC Opioid Panel - Video 3
  4. IMTRC Opioid Panel - Video 4
  5. IMTRC Opioid Panel - Video 5
  6. IMTRC Opioid Panel - Video 6
  7. IMTRC Opioid Panel - Video 7

Robert D Kerns, PhD, is a Professor of Psychiatry, Neurology and Psychology at Yale University, and he is currently the Program Director of the National Institutes of Health-Department of Defense-Department of Veterans Affairs Pain Management Collaboratory.

Eric Schoomaker, MD, PhD, Lieutenant General, U.S. Army (RET), served as the 42nd Surgeon General of the United States Army and Commanding General, and is the Director of the Uniformed Service University of the Health Sciences (USU) LEAD program. He has been honored with the Order of Military Medical Merit and the "A" proficiency designator and holds the Expert Field Medical Badge.

Heather Tick, MD, is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Departments of Family Medicine, Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine, and is the first Gunn-Loke Endowed Professor of Integrative Pain Medicine at the University of Washington. She co-founded one of the first interprofessional pain centers, located in Toronto, and is the lead author on the December 2017 white paper, Evidence-Based Nonpharmacologic Strategies for Comprehensive Pain Care: The Consortium Pain Task Force White Paper.