Is Massage Therapy a Science-based Treatment Option?

It is widely known that massage therapy gives people a sense of relaxation. The minute we think about getting a massage it is almost automatic to feel a sense of happiness, pleasure and tension release just from the thought of it. We can then say that massage therapy has some sort of placebo effect on our minds even before we get onto the massage table, but does this effect have real physiological and psychological benefits after getting a proper massage treatment plan? Is massage therapy effectiveness supported by legitimate scientific evidence?

For centuries, Massage therapy has been a popular discipline used for medicinal purposes in various parts of the world. The literature suggests that Massage therapy originated 3000 B.C. in India as part of Ayurvedic medicine, currently still being practiced in different parts of the world to treat different body ailments. Other studies have suggested that civilizations such as China used massage therapy 2700 B.C to heal energy imbalances in the body. Similarly, Egyptian civilization created reflexology for medicinal purposes back in 2500 B.C.. Japan developed their own massage style around 1000 B.C derived from Chinese massage: Shiatsu massage which is still used now a days to treat a number of body imbalances and ailments. Greece, around 800-900 B.C. used massage therapy to alleviate symptoms of body pain derived from Sports practice and injuries, and so on. Evidently, massage has been used historically with medicinal purposes in different advanced civilizations in the world, however the scientific evidence that can look more carefully into the specific benefits of massage beyond self-reported measurements has been recently developed and validated, giving researchers the opportunity to explore these benefits in a scientific elaborated way.

Studies observing benefits of massage have demonstrated true benefits from Massage Treatment. For instance, In studies observing effects of massage for preterm infants with underweight issues, moderate pressure massage has increased vagal nerve activity and gastric motility, which could be leading to more efficient food absorption and increased weight gain. This procedure was done in intensive care units in many parts of the world. Another aspect observed in this study was the reduced energy expenditure in infants leading to reduced weight-gain. After 15-min protocol of moderate pressure massage (moving the skin) was used twice per day for a one-week period, results suggested that energy expenditure was significantly lower in the preterm infants after a five-day massage therapy period than after a period without massage. This decreased energy expenditure may be in part responsible for the increased weight gain associated with massage therapy, indicating that moderate pressure was a critical factor for the weight gain effect.

In other studies looking at pain syndromes in pregnant women, massage has resulted in reduced pain on chronic pain conditions from lower back pain during pregnancy to labor pain, migraine headaches, premenstrual syndrome. Moreover, kit has been found that massage therapy is effective at treating chronic pain in adults for conditions such as: chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, carpal tunnel syndrome and rheumatoid arthritis. Massage has also been effective for children and adolescents presenting with chronic pediatric pain. After the therapy sessions, the children and adolescents reported significantly lower levels of pain, discomfort and depressed mood. In a study on postoperative pain management in adults, back massages resulted in decreased pain intensity as well as lower anxiety levels.

In terms of psychological aspects, studies have suggested that serotonin levels are increased by massage therapy and are also correlated with decreased cortisol and depression, which are also important effects of massage therapy. Other studies have observed Attentiveness and EEG patterns. After massage therapy, heightened alertness/attentiveness was observed following the massage sessions including increased beta and theta waves and decreased delta waves. These EEG patterns were related to better performance after the massage on math computations including performing the calculations in less time and with greater accuracy immediately after the massages.

In terms of the brain structural aspects of depression, depressed individuals often have greater right than left frontal lobe EEG activity. Greater right frontal EEG activation is associated with negative emotions and with withdrawal or less approach behavior. Chronically depressed individuals show this EEG pattern even when they are no longer showing behavioral symptoms. Thus, right frontal EEG has been noted as a physiological marker for chronic depression. Frontal EEG has shifted from right to left in depressed adolescents and adults even after a short session of moderate pressure massage. Other changes following massage therapy include increased vagal activity, that is typically low in depressed individuals. Moreover,

Cortisol levels that are often high in depression have decreased following moderate pressure massage as have neurotransmitters associated with stress, i.e. norepinephrine levels. And, serotonin (the body's natural antidepressant) and dopamine (an activating neurotransmitter) have increased following moderate pressure massage.

In terms of immune function, it has been suggested by many studies that moderate pressure massage therapy when received on a regular basis and as part of a reviewed treatment plan (such as those received from Remedial Massage Therapists), increases the number of Natural Killer cells responsible for fighting viral cells, bacterial cells and cancer cells. Moderate pressure massage has also led to increased vagal activity and decreased cortisol levels. The latter, responsible for stress and anxiety levels.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging data have suggested that moderate pressure massage was represented in several brain regions including the amygdala, the hypothalamus and the anterior cingulate cortex, all areas involved in stress and emotion regulation.

In summary, massage therapy has vast scientific evidence supporting medicinal effects in physiological ailments and pain during pregnancy, physiological imbalances in infants, kids and adolescents; and chronic physical conditions in adults. Moreover, there is much evidence suggesting the immediate benefits massage therapy has on psychological imbalances in individuals in terms of increasing the production of serotonin (natural antidepressant), neurotransmitters, vagal activity, and gastric motility. Also, massage therapy has scientific evidence through functional magnetic resonance imaging suggesting benefits in brain areas involved in stress and emotion regulation, such as reduction in cortisol levels responsible for stress and anxiety.

References: Field, T. (2014). Massage therapy research review. Complimentary Therapies in Clinical Practice. (20) 4. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1744388114000425#bib1