This investigative team collaborated again in a 2-year
single-blinded randomized controlled dose-finding study,
aiming to identify an optimal-practical dose and treatment
regimen of an 8-week course of Swedish massage
for osteoarthritis of the knee. The intervention development
phase of this dose-finding study incorporated a
formal manualization process. Here we describe our approach
in developing a standardized massage intervention
tailored to subjects with osteoarthritis of the knee
while respectful of the individualized nature of massage
therapy [34], as well as the implementation of this manualized
protocol into two NIH-supported randomized
controlled trials.