Massage Therapy Thumb Saver

3D Printed Massage Therapy Tool for Education
 - all items priced at cost + $5 for student club activities

Designed by Paul Nussbaum, Ph.D., Edward Simpson III, and Angela Staylor

Here at ECPI University in Richmond, VA there is a unique opportunity for cross discipline cooperation because both the Massage Therapy (MT) and Engineering Technology (ET) departments are only one floor apart in the same building. When the ET department started expanding its lessons on additive manufacturing (also known as 3D printing), it made sense to see if other departments needed anything custom-made. This is where the idea for the creation of a MT tool, specially designed for education, was born.

MT Dean, Mr. Edward Simpson, III explained, “There are a wide variety of massage therapy tools and devices for sale, and many more arrive on the market every day. One of the tools we train students on is a thumb-saver. Although we have successfully used these in the past, and there are several brands to choose from, we worried that if we use the product for educational purposes, students might learn the wrong technique.”

A thumb-saver is a plastic device that sits in the palm of the hand and distributes the pressure of massaging with the thumb across the entire palm of the hand. The correct way to apply pressure with the thumb, and therefore the thumb-saver, is with a direct forward motion, not twisting the wrist. 

MT faculty member Angela Staylor explained, “All the commercially available thumb-savers we have found have a comfortable bowl shape where the thumb rests. Although the bowl shape is comfortable; as an educational tool, we would have preferred it not to have the bowl shape. The reason for this preference is that when teaching new MT students, we do not want them to use a side to side pressure with the thumb – only a direct forward pressure. Only when the thumb is pointing straight forwards and down, with the thumb’s distal and proximal phalanx bones in alignment with the metacarpal, carpal, and radius of the arm, can injury from repetitive stress be safeguarded. MT students must learn to use this forwards and down motion, all in one straight line.”

ET faculty, Paul Nussbaum Ph.D., used an example thumb-saver that the MT department offers for resale to the students to get rough engineering specifications for the ET department to manufacture. A prototype was created, and and later made available for sale on Shapeways.com. The prototype does not contain the bowl shape and therefore purposely teaches the MT student to only push forwards. Dr. Nussbaum explained, “Attempting to apply pressure sideways, or attempting to twist the wrist to hold the thumb sideways from the direction of pressure will cause the student’s thumb to slip off the device. Although it isn’t as comfortable to use as the commercially available thumb-savers, for education it is perfect. Without these skills, the student may later injure themselves by repeatedly putting the sideways strain on the joints between bones.”

In addition to the initial creation of the device, ongoing collaboration helped make improvements. MT students were involved to try out the prototype and provide additional requirements. These requirements were discussed with ET students, who were learning the 3D printing design tools. In this way, both disciplines benefited by being able to explain and gather requirements.

The first time the MT students tried the prototype, they liked the fit and feel of the structure. They tried out the prototype on firm artificial surfaces, as well as on live massage therapy volunteers. The MT students agreed that the new device worked like a commercially available thumb-saver in that it reduced strain on the thumb during massage procedures. Nevertheless, the MT students wanted more. 

The prototype was a perfect fit for students with even the smallest hands, but for MT students with larger hands, it was harder to use. They wished that the prototype came in a larger size. The ET department worked on this new requirement, and today three sizes are available. Aalthough everyone can still purchase the commercially available thumb-savers for professional use, MT students and faculty at ECPI University will now have these specially designed 3D printed Massage Therapy Tools for Education.