Exploring perceptions of the Mentastics Trager Psychophysical Integration method in chronic pain management

Abstract

This study brings together research from the fields of chronic pain management, complementary alternative medicine (CAM), and somatic practices to enlighten the chronic pain population, massage therapists, and manual therapists about a novel and lesser-known framework of movement principles within the Trager Psychophysical Integration MD method (Mentastics). Mentastics is a set of non-weight-loaded movement combinations (Slade & Keating, 2007), the nature of which is to gently use gravity and one’s own “feeling” of the movements to execute them. This exploratory and descriptive study examined individuals' perceptions of the Mentastics technique to help support people living with persistent chronic pain. Seven participants watched a 15-minute video introducing Mentastics and then participated in an online semi-structured interview, which asked them about their opinions and perceptions of the Mentastics technique video. Four major themes evolved from the participants’ remarks: (1) Mentastics for themselves and others, (2) Mentastics an exploration of movements, (3) Inclination towards positive feelings, (4) Mentastics adaptations. Results have the potential to offer a new way of supporting and offering a lesser-known self-care protocol for mobility maintenance and shaping the future of massage education practices in the field of chronic pain. This study demonstrated the high potential of the Mentastics technique, in possibly aiding with the alleviation of perceived pain levels, within the demographic of individuals dealing with chronic pain.