Scientific Benefits of Massage
Massage therapy--the practice of rubbing, kneading and otherwise manipulating of the soft tissues of the body--has existed for thousands of years. It is discussed in the Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine, a Chinese text dating from at least 1000 BC, and probably existed long before that. Information regarding the scientific benefits of massage is limited. Indeed, the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine is sponsoring research into the topic, but the consensus is that it is beneficial to health.-
How Massage Works
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Exactly how massage affects the muscles and other soft tissues and what changes, beneficial or otherwise, it brings about in the rest of the body is still unclear. Nevertheless, several theories exist for the reasons why massage is an effective treatment of hypertension (high blood pressure), anxiety, depression and pain. These include that stimulation of the soft tissues releases beneficial chemicals, such as serotonin or endorphins, into the bloodstream, promoting a feeling of well being and increasing the pain threshold.
Lower Back Pain
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More research is required before any conclusions can be drawn about the effectiveness of massage therapy for specific health conditions. However, in 2007 the American Pain Society and the American College of Physicians recommended that massage be employed along with other complementary and alternative medicine therapies, such as acupuncture, to treat patients with chronic lower back pain if they failed to respond to conventional treatment. A review of 13 clinical trials, conducted in 2008, revealed that massage may be beneficial in these cases.
Exercise
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Conversely, a review of 27 clinical trials of the effectiveness of massage in reducing soreness and promoting recovery in athletes following exercise, conducted by the Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine in the same year, revealed only "moderate evidence for the efficacy of massage therapy." The trials involved massaging different parts of the body, using different massage techniques, for various lengths of time. Another study, conducted by Professor Michael Tschavovsky of Queens University, Ontario, Canada, in 2009 revealed that massage actually reduced, rather than increased, the blood flow to muscles and hindered the removal of lactic acid--a by product of the chemical reactions that lead to muscle contraction--compared with other warming down techniques such as stretching, walking or jogging.
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