Message Therapy

According to the CDC, 50 million Americans suffer from chronic pain, and it affects more people than diabetes, heart disease, and cancer combined. Research continues to support the health benefits of Massage Therapy for pain relief. Harvard Medical School Publishing states, "Massage used to be considered an indulgence, but it's now recognized as a legitimate therapy for some painful conditions. Therapeutic massage may relieve pain by way of several mechanisms, including relaxing painful muscles, tendons, and joints; relieving stress and anxiety; and possibly helping to "close the pain gate" by stimulating competing nerve fibers and impeding pain messages to and from the brain."

Massage Therapy is actively being research. Many studies indicate therapeutic effects on pain in the back, hands, neck, and knees, among other areas. Here are some highlights:

• A study published in Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice showed a reduction in hand pain and an improvement in grip strength among people who had four weekly hand massage sessions and did self-massage at home.
• A study published in Annals of Family Medicine in 2014 found that 60-minute therapeutic massage sessions two or three times a week for four weeks relieved chronic neck pain better than no massage or fewer or shorter massage sessions.

No Data Has Shown Massage Therapy To Be Harmful

While there may be some contraindications to Massage Therapy including heart disease and certain skin conditions Massage therapy is now more broadly accepted as a dependable treatment for many types of pain. It is usually an adjunct to other medical treatments such as Prolotherapy or Decompression Therapy. In general, massage is rarely given as the sole and primary treatment for pain management. It is often employed as and additional factor of therapy to aid in pain management. Regardless, massage can be an essential component of your pain management.