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How does therapeutic massage fit into
a medical practice?
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Physicians are prescribing
therapeutic massage for a wide range of medical
conditions, including:
- Allergies
- Arthritis
- Asthma and bronchitis
- Carpal tunnel
syndrome
- Chronic and
temporary pain
- Circulatory
problems
- Digestive disorders,
including spastic colon and constipation
- Headache
- Insomnia
- Myofascial pain
- Reduced range
of motion
- Sinusitis
- Sports injuries,
including pulled or strained muscles and ligaments
- Stress
- Temporomandibular
joint dysfunction (TMJ)
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The benefit of Therapeutic Massage
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A considerable body of research documents the therapeutic benefits of massage, with published results in top medical and scientific journals.
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In the mid-1990s, through the Office of Alternative Medicine, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded $10 million in grants to study alternative and complementary therapies for a variety of ailments, from women's health and chronic illness, to pain and addictions.
Among NIH-funded studies on therapeutic massage is research that reported:
cortisol
levels and blood pressure dropped more quickly
in post-abdominal surgery patients undergoing
massage therapy compared to a control group;2 cancer patients
who had massage therapy while undergoing
bone marrow transplant were much less anxious
and fatigued;3 HIV-exposed
infants who underwent massage therapy fared
better than those who did not, in terms
of weight gain, neonatal performance and
exhibition of stress behaviors;4 medical
and nursing students who had massage therapy
demonstrated an increased immune response
(immunoglobulin and apoptosis) in the week
before professional board exams, compared
to those who did not have the treatment.5
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In addition to the NIH research, the Touch Research Institute of the University Of Miami School Of Medicine has published or has underway 70 studies on the effects of massage in clinical situations ranging from post? Traumatic stress to migraine headache. Working in conjunction with Duke University, researchers measured the body’s biochemical levels after massage therapy and found a dramatic decrease in the levels of cortisol, nor epinephrine, epinephrine and dopamine.
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