Faculty180 - Vita and Individual Profile Data Sheet

Niki Munk, PhD, LMT

Fall 1980 - Fall 2120

Visiting Associate Professor

[email protected]

Current Position

Position: Associated Faculty

Biography

Dr. Niki Munk is Chair and Associate Professor of Health Sciences in Indiana University’s School of Health & Human Sciences in Indianapolis, a non-practicing Kentucky licensed massage therapist, founding steering committee member for the Indiana Consortium for Integrative Medicine and Health, and one of 13 international Fellows in ARCCIM’s International Complementary Medicine Research Leadership Program. Niki worked as Program Director and instructor for the Lexington Healing Arts Academy (Kentucky) from 2002-2006. Discouraged by accessibility barriers to massage therapy faced by much of the population, she chose research and academia to help bridge the accessibility gap reasoning that stronger evidence for the field will lead to increased routine 3rd party coverage for massage treatment. After completing her doctorate in gerontology from the University of Kentucky in 2011, Niki has developed a robust research career focused on real-world massage therapy for chronic pain and associated factors including emotional well-being, trigger point self-care, and accessibility challenges to massage. Niki’s expertise and interests span several stakeholder domains including that of non-pharmacological treatment clinicians, care provider, and researcher. Niki’s is a Massage Therapy Foundation Trustee since 2018 and focuses her service on massage clinician research engagement and developing the massage field into a sustainable and viable career while improving treatment accessibility and utilization for all people.

Degrees

2011

Ph.D., Gerontology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, United States

1998

B.A., Theatre, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United StatesDissertation:

Scholarly Contributions and Creative Productions

Journal Article

Completed/Published

Munk, Niki, C Cates, K Jorden, R Farrand, A.b Kennedy, and H Groninger. 2023. “Massage Therapy in Palliative Care Populations: A Narrative Review of Literature from 2012 to 2022.” Annals of Palliative Medicine, 96375–975.
Munk, Niki, SF Heavner, M Stuenkel, RR Sellers, R McCallus, KD Dean, C Wilson, et al. 2023. “"I Don’t Want to Go to Work”: A Mixed-Methods Analysis of Healthcare Worker Experiences from the Front- and Side-Lines of Covid 19.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 5953.
Munk, Niki, and M Rosenow. 2023. “Perpetuating Victimization with Efforts to Reduce Human Trafficking: A Call to Action for Massage Therapist Protection                      .” IJTMB, 44–53.
Munk, Niki, H Groninger, D Nemati, C Cates, K Jorden, and A.m Kelemen. 2023. “Massage Therapy for Hospitalized Patients Receiving Palliative Care: A Randomized Clinical Trial.” Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 428-441.
Munk, Niki, JK Daggy, E Evans, M Kline, JE Slaven, B Laws, S McCalley, T Foote, MS Matthias, and MJ Bair. 2022. “Therapist Delivered vs. Care Ally-Assisted Massage for Veterans with Chronic Neck Pain: TOMCATT Study Methods and Modified Design of a Randomized Control Trial.” JMIR Research Protocols, e38950.
Munk, Niki, H Hall, R Lauche, S Fogarty, J Kloester, and B Carr. 2022. “Partner Delivered Relaxation Massage to Support Mild Antenatal Anxiety: Views of Participants                      .” Midwifery 105.
Munk, Niki, S Shue, M.s Matthias, D.p Watson, and K.k Miller. 2021. “The Career Transition Experiences of Military Veterans: A Qualitative Study.” Military Psychology 33:359–71.
Munk, Niki, A Almojaibel, L.t Goodfellow, T.f Fisher, K.k Miller, A.r Comer, T Bakas, and M.d Justiss. 2021. “Determinants of Telerehabilitation Acceptance among Patients Attending Pulmonary Rehabilitation Programs in the United States.” Saudi Journal of Medicine & Medical Sciences, 230.
Munk, Niki, A Oliver, and K Stanton-Nichols. 2021. “Applying Theory to Overcome Internal Barriers for Healthy Behavior Change in Adults with Intellectual Disabilities. Journal of Intellectual Disabilities.” Journal of Intellectual Disabilities.
Munk, Niki, Y Zhang, R Lauche, H Cramer, and J.a Dennis. 2021. “Increasing Trend of Yoga Practice among US Adults from 2002 to 2017.” Journal for Alternative and Complementary Medicine 27:778–85.
Munk, Niki, and M Rosenow. 2021. “Massage for Combat Injuries in Veteran with Undisclosed PTSD: A Retrospective Case Report.” International Journal of Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork, 4–11.
Munk, Niki, D Nemati, E Benjamin, A Davies, S Shue, and M.j Bair. 2021. “Trigger-Point Self-Care for Chronic Neck Pain: Pilot and Feasibility.” Advances in Integrative Medicine 8:9–16.
Munk, Niki, H Hall, B Carr, S Fogarty, R Cant, C Weller, R Lauche, S Holton, C Weller, and R Lauche. 2021. “Maternal Mental Health and Partner Delivered Massage; a Pilot Study.” Women and Birth, e237–47.
Munk, Niki, J Sefton, J Dexheimer, R Miccio, A.b Kennedy, J Cambron, G MacDonald, and R Hemsworth. 2020. “A Research Agenda for the Massage Therapy Profession: A Report from the Massage Therapy Foundation.” International Journal of Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork, 42–46.
Munk, Niki, H.g Hall, R Cant, B Carr, A Tremayne, C Weller, S Fogarty, and R Lauche. 2020. “The Effectiveness of Massage for Reducing Pregnant Women’s Anxiety and Depression; Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” Midwifery 90.
Munk, Niki, and S Zabel. 2020. “Practice-Based Research Networks and Massage Therapy: A Scoping Review.” International Journal of Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork, 25–34.
Munk, Niki, A Church, D Nemati, S Zabel, and A Comer. 2020. “Massage Perceptions and Attitudes of Undergraduate Pre-Professional Health Sciences Students: A Cross-Sectional Survey.” BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies, 1–8.
Munk, Niki, A Almojaibel, L.t Goodfellow, T.f Fisher, K.k Miller, A.r Comer, M.d Justiss, and T Bakas. 2020. “Health Care Practitioners’ Determinants of Telerehabilitation Acceptance.” International Journal of Telerehabilitation, 43–50.
Munk, Niki, C Kim, S Stebbing, T Sundberg, R Lauche, and L Ward. 2019. “Complementary Medicine for the Management of Knee and Hip Osteoarthritis–A Patient Perspective.” Musculoskeletal Care.
Munk, Niki, A Steel, J Wardle, R Lauche, J Adams, and D Sibbritt. 2019. “Generational Differences in Complementary Medicine Use in Young Australian Women: Repeated Cross-Sectional Dataset Analysis from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health.” Complementary Therapies in Medicine 43:66–72.

In Press

Munk, Niki, and S Zabel. 2024. “Use of Practice-Based Research Networks in Massage Therapy Research  .” IJTMB.
Munk, Niki, P Nabity, S Farrokhi, J Finnell, and D McGeary. n.d. “Considerations for Psychologically Informed Therapeutic Massage for Headache.” JICM.
Munk, Niki, D Nemati, R Hinrichs, A Johnson, and R Lauche. n.d. “Massage Therapy as a Self Management Strategy for Musculoskeletal Pain and Chronic Conditions: A Systematic Review of Feasibility and Scope.” Journal of Integrative & Complementary Medicine.