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Multiple sclerosis patients benefit from massage therapy

Conculsion:
The massage group had lower anxiety and less depressed mood immediately following the massage sessions and, by the end of the study, they had improved self-esteem, better body image and image of disease progression and enhanced social functional status.

Hernandez-Reif, M., Field, T., Field, T., & Theakston, H. (1998). Multiple sclerosis patients benefit from massage therapy. Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, 2, 168-174.

Lower back pain and sleep disturbance are reduced following massage therapy

Conclusion:
By the end of the study, the massage therapy group, as compared to the relaxation group, reported less pain, depression, anxiety and sleep disturbance. They also showed improved trunk and pain flexion performance.

Field, T., Hernandez-Reif, M., Diego, M., & Fraser, M. (2007). Lower back pain and sleep disturbance are reduced following massage therapy. Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapy, 11, 141-145.

High blood pressure and associated symptoms were reduced by massage therapy

 Results:
Sitting diastolic blood pressure decreased after the first and last massage therapy sessions and reclining diastolic blood pressure decreased from the first to the last day of the study. Although both groups reported less anxiety, only the massage therapy group reported less depression and hostility and showed decreased cortisol.

Hernandez-Reif, M., Field, T., Krasnegor, J. & Theakston, H.(2000). High blood pressure and associated symptoms were reduced by massage therapy. Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, 4, 31-38.

Massage Therapy benefits depressed pregnant women while reducing risk of premature birth and low birth weight

Results:
The massage therapy group women versus the control group women not only had reduced depression by the end of the therapy period, but they also had reduced depression and cortisol levels during the postpartum period. Their newborns were also less likely to be born prematurely and low birthweight, and they had lower cortisol levels and performed better on the Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment habituation, orientation and motor scales.

Source: Infant Behavior and Development, Volume 32, Issue 4, December 2009, Pages 454-460. Tiffany Field, Miguel Diego, Maria Hernandez-Reif, Osvelia Deeds and Barbara Figueiredo

Pregnancy and labour massage therapy

Conclusion:

Women who received massage therapy reported decreased depression, anxiety, and leg and back pain. Cortisol levels decreased and, in turn, excessive fetal activity decreased, and the rate of prematurity was lower in the massage group. In a study of labor pain, women who received massage therapy experienced significantly less pain, and their labors were on average 3 h shorter with less need for medication. An underlying mechanism we have been exploring is that these effects are mediated by increased vagal activity. 

 Field, T. (2010). Pregnancy and labor massage therapy. Expert Review of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 5, 177-181. 

The effects of employer-provided massage therapy on job satisfaction, workplace stress, and pain and discomfort.

Abstract

Long-term care staff have high levels of musculoskeletal concerns. This research provided a pilot program to evaluate the efficacy of employer-funded on-site massage therapy on job satisfaction, workplace stress, pain, and discomfort. Twenty-minute massage therapy sessions were provided. Evaluation demonstrated possible improvements in job satisfaction, with initial benefits in pain severity, and the greatest benefit for individuals with preexisting symptoms. A long-term effect was not demonstrated.

Source Holistic Nursing Practice. 23(1):19-31, 2009 Jan-Feb.

Massage therapy for infants of depressed mothers

Conclusion:
The infants who experienced massage therapy compared to infants in the rocking control group spent more time in active alert and active awake states, cried less, and had lower cortisol levels, suggesting lower stress. Over the 6-week period, the massage-therapy infants gained more weight, showed greater improvement on emotionality, sociability, and soothability temperament dimensions, and had greater decreases in stress neurotransmitters/hormones (norepinephrine, epinephrine, and cortisol). 

Field, T., Grizzle, N., Scafidi, F. Abrams, S., Richardson, S., Kuhn, C., & Schanberg, S. (1996). Massage therapy for infants of depressed mothers. Infant Behavior and Development, 19, 107-112.

Migraine headaches are reduced by massage therapy

 Conclusion

The massage therapy subjects reported fewer distress symptoms, less pain, more headache free days, fewer sleep disturbances, and they showed an increase in serotonin levels.

Hernandez-Reif, M., Dieter J., Field, T., Swerdlow, B., & Diego, M. (1998). Migraine headaches are reduced by massage therapy. International Journal of Neuroscience, 96, 1-11.

Multiple sclerosis patients benefit from massage therapy.

Conculsion:
The massage group had lower anxiety and less depressed mood immediately following the massage sessions and, by the end of the study, they had improved self-esteem, better body image and image of disease progression and enhanced social functional status.

Hernandez-Reif, M., Field, T., Field, T., & Theakston, H. (1998). Multiple sclerosis patients benefit from massage therapy. Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, 2, 168-174.

Lower back pain and sleep disturbance are reduced following massage therapy

Conclusion:
By the end of the study, the massage therapy group, as compared to the relaxation group, reported less pain, depression, anxiety and sleep disturbance. They also showed improved trunk and pain flexion performance.

 Field, T., Hernandez-Reif, M., Diego, M., & Fraser, M. (2007). Lower back pain and sleep disturbance are reduced following massage therapy. Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapy, 11, 141-145.

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