Massage therapy helps safeguard health

By Laura Key

Tucson Green Times – October 2009

Most everyone knows that receiving massage can feel like an awesome treat, but is massage really good for you? Is it really possible something that feels so darn good confers definite health benefits? Luckily for those who love massage, the answer is a resounding “Yes.”

Over the last decade, a growing body of research on professional massage therapy has documented its benefits for many maladies. Massage can clearly help with a number of physical problems, providing pain relief and accelerating the healing process for many soft-tissue injuries.

Still, when most people think of massage, stress reduction comes to mind first. The effects of massage in relation to stress have been studied in detail and the data are in: Massage doesn’t just make you feel less stressed, it really does significantly reduce stress by several physiological and biochemical measures.

In modern life, stress seems pandemic. Unfortunately, the autonomic branch of our peripheral nervous system – which keeps our insides doing what they need to do without us ever thinking about it – has two branches that tend to pull our internal workings in two main directions. The life-is-good “rest and digest” mode (with the parasympathetic nervous system being dominant) evolved as our normal state of being and normal biochemical balance. The “fight or flight” crisis mode (with the sympathetic nervous system being dominant) evolved to help us make an occasional handy escape from saber-toothed tigers and such. Sadly, many of us today feel constantly hurried and harried, always pressured by the responsibilities we juggle, not to mention the state of the world. We live in crisis mode when, ideally, we could be living in a life-is-good mode, in a calm balanced state, alert yet relaxed.

A large body of research has established that massage therapy acts as a powerful tool for shifting our internal state to life-is-good mode. During massage, a concert of healthy changes plays throughout the body. Pulse drops, blood pressure falls, breathing slows, muscles relax, and other beneficial shifts occur. In the resulting restful state, circulation patterns change.

Instead of prioritizing preparedness to race that tiger, the body prioritizes digestion, tissue repair, and immune function. Sound sleep becomes possible. Stress hormones decrease in abundance and neurotransmitters – biochemicals that help relay messages between nerve cells – increase in abundance, thus facilitating clear thinking.

A recent scientific review (“Cortisol Decreases and Serotonin and Dopamine Increase Following Massage Therapy,” International Journal of Neuroscience; Oct. 2005) analyzed the results of 30 separate research projects on massage in relation to two key biochemical stress measures, specifically levels of cortisol (a natural hormone but an immunosuppressant) and neurotransmitters.

The review found that professional massage therapy results in a decrease in stress hormone levels by an average of 31 percent and an increase in neurotransmitters by an average of almost 30 percent.

This is a dramatic change, especially in light of the fact that after a significant stress event, it can take as much as 72 hours for cortisol levels to return to normal

Interestingly, these impressive changes held across research projects on people suffering stress from a number of specific pain syndromes, autoimmune disorders, chronic fatigue syndrome, job stress, relationship challenges, breast cancer, HIV, and other serious problems. The review concluded that massage is indisputably a profound tool for alleviating mental and emotional stress.

Beyond stress, professional massage therapy has also been shown to be helpful in treating specific mood disorders. A meta-analysis (Psychological Bulletin; Jan. 2004) of 37 separate studies of massage and mood found that a series of massages was clearly helpful in reducing symptoms of both anxiety and depression, offering benefits comparable to a course of psychotherapy. Fewer studies have focused on specific challenging circumstances, but results in some areas are promising. For example, two pilot studies on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (“Integrating Complementary Therapies into Community Mental Health Practice: An Exploration,” Journal of Complementary and Alternative Medicine; June 2005, and “Body-oriented Therapy in Sexual Abuse Recovery: A Pilot Test Comparison,” Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies; Jan. 2006) found that massage could be helpful. In one study, women recovering from childhood sexual abuse found massage therapy an effective adjunct to psychotherapy in improving client-reported measures of emotional wellbeing and body connection.

The evidence is indisputable. If life feels more challenging than you prefer – whether due to saber-toothed tigers, daily responsibilities, or other factors – massage therapy can be an ally. As an accessible tool for countering stress and other emotional challenges, massage can help us shift our internal biological state toward a calm, balanced, life-is-good mode. Reclaiming “rest and digest” as our everyday natural state is essential for robust immune function and true health and wellbeing.

Author: Laura Key is a practicing licensed massage therapist and the founder and owner of a local therapeutic massage center.

Oct. 25-31 is National Massage Therapy Awareness Week 2009

A 2007 survey conducted by CARAVAN® Opinion Research Corporation International found that 85 percent of Americans agree that massage can be effective in reducing pain and 87 percent agree that massage can be beneficial to health and wellness. Not all of us can be like Bob Hope, who lived to age 100, received a professional massage almost daily for decades, and cited frequent massage as a factor in his health and longevity. Of course, even those of us who receive massage less frequently can still use massage to safeguard our health. Established benefits of massage include its ability to do the following: