The manualization team agreed that the knee must be
regarded as a functional unit. Thus, the protocol explicitly
does not specify the percent of time to be spent directly
on structures of the knee. Rather, time variables
included the upper and lower leg, both including the
knee (see Table 1).
The manualized 30- and 60-min protocols were implemented
in a 24-week randomized dose-finding trial of
massage therapy for osteoarthritis of the knee [39]. Subjects
(n=125) were randomized to one of four regimens of
the manualized massage intervention (30 min or 60 min
weekly or biweekly) or to a usual care control. Outcomes
were assessed at baseline, 8, 16, and 24 weeks and
included the WOMAC, visual analog pain scale, range
of motion, and time to walk 50 feet