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Tui Balms Bronze Award goes to Hayley Ward

Massage New Zealand is delighted to announce that Hayley Ward has been awarded the Tui Balms Bronze Award for her case report. Hayley entered the contest in November 2018 with her case report, "The Effects of Massage Therapy and Movement Therapy on an Office Worker with Low Back Pain". Hayley's case report was assessed and graded by our panel of independent judges and was deemed to have met the standard of the bronze award. Hayley provided a well written case report with good use of research to highlight the importance and benefits of utilising movement education in conjunction with massage therapy to address low back pain. It was evident that a great deal of work and thought had gone into the report and the judging panel commended her.

You can read Hayley's case report in Issue 1/2019 of MNZ Magazine.

Hayley recently graduated from the Southern Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Therapeutic and Sports Massage. This year Hayley begins the two-year Master of Science Communication endorsed in Science in Society at the University of Otago. The research project will be based on environmental sustainability and will be similar to her Bachelor research project where she investigated the effects of an eco-friendly massage therapy workshop on the attitudes and behaviours of massage students. Hayley plans to contribute to the massage therapy profession mainly through academia. She is interested in continuing to mentor and peer-tutor students, contribute to research, and create learning resources.

As the winner of the Tui Balms Bronze Award, Hayley will:

• Receive a voucher to the value of $100 from sponsor, redeemable for Tui Balm products;

• Receive a certificate as proof of the award;

• Have her achievement announced via MNZ social media, website and MNZ Magazine;

• Have her case report published in MNZ Magazine and on the MNZ website.

Hayley has also been encouraged to submit her case report to the International Journal of Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork (IJTMB) and is receiving some individual mentoring to assist her to bring her case report to the required standard for submission. This mentoring has been provided voluntarily, courtesy of international author, educator and MNZ Magazine Research Update columnist, Ruth Werner, BCTMB. We are very grateful to Ruth for offering her time pro bono.

The contest is an opportunity for New Zealand massage therapists to showcase their clinical work, analytical thought processes and to actively participate in the profession, helping to increase awareness of the profession's value in modern, evidence-informed health care.

Case reports have the potential to have a positive influence in advancing the profession by helping to gain acceptance of massage therapy within the mainstream health sector, increasing awareness in the government sector and promoting the benefits of treatment and outcomes to the public.

Massage New Zealand would like to congratulate Hayley on her achievement, hopes she enjoys her prize and wishes her all the best for submission of her case report to the IJTMB for potential publication.

The 2019 MNZ Case Report Contest will be announced in late February, keep an eye out for more details. We would like to encourage more Massage Therapists and students of Massage Therapy to enter the contest.

For further information, contact: admin@massagenewzealand.org.nz