Massage Therapy Foundation 2017 Granting and Contest Cycle    
The Massage Therapy Foundation offers many opportunities for practitioners to advance the massage therapy profession. Take a look at these programs and their application deadlines.
• Research Grants. If you’re planning a research study investigating the beneficial applications of massage therapy, you could be awarded up to $30,000.
    Application deadline: March 1, 2017.
• Community Service Grants. These grants of up to $5,000 support charitable organizations that provide massage therapy to those with little or no access to such services.
    Application deadline: April 3, 2017.
• Student Case Report Contest. Students have a chance to build their research skills and showcase their professional development.
    Application deadline: June, 1, 2017.
For more information, visit www.massagetherapyfoundation.org/grants-and-contests.

Tai Chi Can Help with Neck Pain
In a study aimed to test the efficacy of tai chi for treating chronic neck pain, subjects with chronic, nonspecific neck pain were randomly assigned to 12 weeks of group tai chi, conventional neck exercises with weekly sessions of 75–90 minutes, or a wait-list control group.
After 12 weeks, a pain reduction of around 50 percent was observed by 36.8 percent of individuals in the tai chi group, who reported significantly less pain compared with the wait-list group. No differences were found for tai chi compared to the conventional neck exercise group.
The results indicate that tai chi exercises and conventional neck exercises are equally effective in improving pain and quality of life, and both approaches appear to be safe and well tolerated.
Read the abstract or the full study at www.jpain.org/article/S1526-5900%2816%2930105-5/abstract.

Reiki Shows Positive Effects on Pain Reduction After C-Section Surgery
A study published in the November/December 2016 issue of Holistic Nursing Practice was conducted to determine the effects of reiki on pain and vital signs when reiki was applied for 15 minutes to the incision area of the post-cesarean patient.
In the single-blinded, randomized, double-controlled study, 45 patients were randomly assigned to reiki, sham reiki (placebo), and control groups. Reiki was applied for 15 minutes to the incision area of the body in the first 24 and 48 hours after the operation, and within 4–8 hours of the application of standard analgesics.
A reduction in pain was determined in the reiki group patients, who were also observed to use fewer analgesics throughout the study and to not need them as soon thereafter as the sham reiki and control groups.