Chronic Pain Management
Back Pain
o Massage Therapy can provide relief for patients with chronic back pain.
o 2012 systematic review highlighted evidence indicated Massage Therapy reduced chronic low back pain and was superior to sham laser control, relaxation therapy, as well as self-care education, and equal to exercise.
o Studies have also found that significant improvements in acute or subacute low back pain or function when using Massage Therapy.
o Patients who received massage had superior functional outcomes and symptom improvement with benefits lasting at least six months.
o Patients that received Massage Therapy had a greater decrease in pain intensity and disability than patients receiving physical therapy.
Neck and Shoulder Pain
o Massage Therapy yielded greater pain reduction when compared to inactive therapies for neck and shoulder pain.
o Researchers discovered a dose-response relationship between the number and duration of massage sessions and the improvement in neck pain intensity and the neck disability index score.
Headache
o Other studies have shown that Massage Therapy can also help relieve Cervicogenic headaches caused by neck pain.
o Patients who experience tension headaches and receive Massage Therapy experience a decrease in the physical pain of the headache in addition to significant reductions in stress, anxiety, and depression, which may be associated with headache pain.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
o Two weeks of 30-minute massages twice per week resulted in significantly reduced pain and increased functional activity.
Osteoarthritis
o Massage Therapy has positive results with respect to osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis related outcomes, including less pain and stiffness, and enhanced function.
o Researchers found that patients with knee arthritis pain who received Massage Therapy with exercise showed significant improvement on the pain scale, get up and go test, and the WOMAC Index.
Fibromyalgia
o Fibromyalgia is a syndrome that can produce chronic fatigue, muscle pain, and depression, among other symptoms.
o Massage Therapy has been shown to relieve pain and attenuate the general effect of symptoms in fibromyalgia.
o Myofascial Release has positive effects on fibromyalgia symptoms such as pain, anxiety, and depression.
o Experts recommend that Massage Therapists be regular partners in a team-based treatment of the syndrome, along with physicians, psychologists, and physical and exercise therapists.
o It is estimated between ¼ - ½ of fibromyalgia patients seek treatment from Massage Therapists.
Hospice
o Massage Therapy can be a particularly effective method of providing comfort and easing pain, stress, depression, nausea, and fatigue.
o Massage Therapy reduced the need for administration of rescue doses and improved well-being in palliative care patients.
Behavioral Health Treatment
Anxiety and Stress
o Prolonged or extreme experiences can seriously impact mental and physical health.
o Anxiety and stress can be associated with existing health problems – particularly chronic problems.
o Massage Therapy has been shown to help reduce stress and anxiety while simultaneously addressing related physical repercussions.
o Research has indicated that Swedish Massage Therapy is an effective acute treatment for generalized anxiety disorder.
o Massage helps nurses reduce stress-related symptoms during work hours.
o Back massage given during chemotherapy significantly reduced anxiety and acute fatigue, suggesting that Massage Therapy may play a key role in helping patients better manage symptoms associated with cancer treatment.
Depression
o The National Quality Forum rated clinical depression as the most important high-impact Medicare condition capable of significantly raising the price of health care and reducing the health of patients.
o Clinical depression can manifest concurrently with a number of other medical conditions, and contribute to the outcomes patients achieve for those conditions.
o Massage Therapy can help ease the emotional pain of depression
o Massage Therapy can be effective in helping deal with some of the side effects of depression medications, which can include headaches, anxiety, and insomnia.
PTSD or PTSI
o “Military Medicine” showed that Massage Therapy helped military veterans significantly reduce anxiety, depression, worry, and physical pain.
o 2016 study of the Mission Reconnect Program for military veterans showed significant improvements in measure of PTSD and significant reductions in self-reported levels of pain, tension, irritability, anxiety, and depression.
Substance Use Disorder Recovery
o Massage Therapy can be helpful for people who are recovering from substance abuse, specifically when they are dealing with withdrawal symptoms, such as anxiety, stress, and sleep problems.
Care for Rehabilitation/Physical Training
Performance Training/Injury Treatment
o Several studies have shown Massage Therapy supports athletes fully recover from ligament tears and sub-acute back pain.
o Science Translational Medicine published that Massage Therapy after exercise attenuated production of cellular inflammatory signals in muscle tissue, thereby support post-exercise healing.
o Massage Therapy reduces muscle soreness and increases range of motion after eccentric exercise.
o In a study done with Ironman triathletes, massage was found to be effective in post-race recovery from pain as well as perceived fatigue.
Ergonomics and Job-Related Injuries
o Generally, workers’ compensation programs around the country will cover Massage Therapy if the therapy is referred by a physician as a potential means of getting the individual back to the workplace.
o The Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act cite the potential benefits of Massage Therapy as “reducing pain and muscle tension, increasing flexibility and range of motion, and improving blood circulation.”
Cardiac Rehab
o Patients who received Massage Therapy prior to coronary artery bypass surgery and elective cardiac surgery experienced decreased pain intensity, greater reduction in pain, muscle tension, and anxiety, or increased relaxation.
o Research has shown Massage Therapy improved sleep quality after cardiopulmonary artery bypass graft surgery.
o A study on pre-hypertension found that patients experienced a greater sustained decrease in systolic and diastolic blood pressure.
Joint Replacement Surgery
o Massage Therapists, in close collaboration with Physical Therapists, can help reduce pain perception and anxiety in patients both before and after hip or knee joint replacements.
Scar Management
o Once a wound has closed, healed, and is approved as safe to work on by a physician, Massage Therapists can apply techniques to break down the scar tissue and promote minimum observability of the healed scar.
o Research has found that Massage Therapy on patients with burn scars decreased pain, pruritus, and scar tissue.
Acute Medical Treatment
Cancer Management
o Studies have corroborated the helpful role of Massage Therapy in reducing cancer-related discomfort.
o Massage was effective for managing pain for various types of cancer, including metastatic cancer, colorectal cancer, and breast cancer.
o Massage is effective for physiological outcomes of cancer-related pain populations.
o Research has found that Massage Therapy was beneficial for cancer-related sleep disorders and fatigue.
o Massage significantly reduced progressive sleep disorder, pain, and fatigue, and improved sleep quality over time.
o The Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York had Massage Therapist provide care for patients who either requested massage or were referred by a physician. Patients reported a nearly 50% reduction in pain, fatigue, anxiety, nausea, and depression.
Postoperative Pain
o Massage Therapy was more efficacious in reducing pain than standard care plus self-directed relaxation.
o Research has also demonstrated reductions in postoperative pain and anxiety and improved patient disposition following thoracic surgeries, mastectomies, and heart surgeries.
Lifestyle Diseases
o Massage Therapy can be used to help manage unwanted physical side effects or repercussions of “lifestyle diseases,” such as lymphedema from bariatric surgery, heart failure, and chronic venous disease.
o Results found that manual lymphatic alone significantly reduced foot volumetry in patients with chronic venous disease, improving their quality of life after elective surgery of the venous system.
Maternity and New Born Care
o Lower back massage has a significant impact on reducing labor pain and increasing satisfaction with birth.
o Massage could have a role in reducing pain intensity, increasing a woman’s sense of control, and improving satisfaction with the childbirth experience.
o Massage Therapy has shown to play a critical role in newborn care.
o Massage Therapy decreases a mother’s prenatal depression which increases gestational age and birth weight.
o Greater weight gain and earlier hospital discharges are the most frequently reported effects of preterm infant Massage Therapy.