A NEW STUDY indicates that massage therapy, or a traditional form of bodywork, can be more beneficial than medication, back exercises or physical therapy, which are the usual ways the health-care system treats low-back pain. A study team at the Group Health Research Institute in Seattle divided 401 patients into three groups: one group received relaxation massage that focused on muscles, a second group underwent structural massage designed to ease tension in specific tissues and joints, and a third group continued with their usual care for back pain. The study was designed to evaluate both the short- and long-term benefits of massage. The patients in the two massage groups received an hour-long massage once a week for 10 weeks.
The researchers reported that afterward, these patients had less pain and were better able to go about their daily activities than the participants who continued with usual care modalities. Either kind of massage, relaxation or structural, appeared to have the same positive results. The effects of massage therapy lasted for six months after the 10-week treatment course: however, the benefits seemed to dissipate after a year without further massage.
Full study in Annals of Internal Medicine, July 5, 2011. There have been many studies that have shown that massage can also decrease the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome, ease post-operative pain, help manage stress, reduce headache frequency, relieve arthritis pain, reduce blood pressure and improve immune function.