A group of European, Australian, and U.S. researchers identified several factors that reduce the trustworthiness of pain research, according to a review published in The Journal of Pain in 2025. These factors include: Failure to meet current standards of governance and integrity Undeclared or poorly managed conflicts of interest Unethical
Most chronic pain explanations are often attributed to biomechanics, physiological factors or both. Not surprisingly, most treatments are often based on these reasons, such as surgery, medications, posture correction, and joint manipulation. However, a group of researchers—led by Dr. Lene Vase from Aarhus University in Denmark—highlighted core principles of psychological
Regression to the mean in health care describes the tendency of the symptoms of a condition to go back to an average state after it has run its course in one extreme. Various academic fields have similar definitions of regression to the mean, such as in psychology and philosophy. For
We see the terms “evidence-based practice”—and sometimes its cousin “science-based practice”—pop up often in massage therapy forums. It’s not uncommon to see massage therapists sharing research from various sources in their discussions. This shift is a decidedly good thing. As healthcare providers, we should strive to critically evaluate our own
A 2015 Cochrane Review found “little confidence” in the effectiveness of massage therapy for chronic low back pain. While this had stirred some pushback from many massage therapists on social media, some therapists embraced the change of the narrative from “fixing” someone to “managing.” the condition. To sort through the
While many people seek massage therapy as a way to alleviate low back pain, researchers from the Institute for Work & Health in Toronto, Canada, concluded in a 2015 meta-analysis that they have “very little confidence that massage is an effective treatment for [low back pain].” Based on 25 randomized-controlled