The gold award winner of the Massage Therapy Foundation’s 2015 Practitioner Case Report Contest is Cathy Meryanos for her project entitled “Utilizing Chair Massage to Address Women’s Health in Rural Africa.”
Meryanos is part of Healing Our Sisters Across the Ocean, a therapeutic massage program primarily aimed at healing African women’s debilitating musculoskeletal injuries cause by traditional head panning (carrying heavy loads on the head).
The case report demonstrated the need and acceptance of therapeutic massage in a country where health care is limited and rehabilitative services are virtually non-existent. A massage therapy program in this environment will promote an affordable and sustainable service for hardworking women with few health-care options, as well as an economic opportunity for women who become trained in giving massage.
Click here to view the Massage Therapy Foundation’s announcement on Facebook, and click here for more information on the case report.