Research Confirms Massage Benefits

By Holly Dunbar, CMT, RH (AGH)

New Moon Body Work and Botanicals

. http://www.newmoonbody.com

More Dental Health Articles

Research Confirms Massage Benefits

It's reassuring to a veteran massage practitioner, and massage therapy clients alike to see the benefits of massage so often touted in the popular press lately. The field has grown in both popularity and credibility, and research simply validates what both therapists and clients of this ancient practice have believed all along that massage therapy has measurable health benefits. Consider recent research quoted in a recent Washington Post article

Tiffany Field, Director of the Touch Research Institute at the University Of Miami Medical School has conducted more than 100 studies on massage, whose findings show that massage can have a positive effect on depression, sleep, stress hormones, immunity, and pain relief. Massage stimulates pressure receptors under the skin, and increases vagal activity. The vagal nerve is one of the 12 cranial nerves that emerge from the brain. Increase in vagal activity can stimulate a variety of responses from the parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for the more nurturing and nourishing activities of the body – deeper sleep, optimal digestion, and re-setting the “resting length” of muscles so that they are not hypertonic and straining the nerves.

Research is concluding massage is very beneficial following exercise, which explains the increase of massage therapists at extreme athletic events such as the Olympics. A study published this year found that recipients who completed vigorous exercise, and then had a massage experienced a decrease in spasms, reduced pain and stiffness, and less tendency for injury. Massage decreases the production of cytokines, which is responsible for the inflammatory response following exercise, according to this study, and also stimulated cell recovery.

Considering the results of a handful of these scientifically conducted studies is interesting, but still leaves a lot of unanswered questions. Massage after all, is both an art and a science, and the application of techniques is difficult to replicate person by person, as each patient and therapist are unique in both the reception of the whole experience and the application of each stroke. A good massage should be tailored to the consideration of each person's needs. In the days of Facebook, e-mail, and indirect communication, it is interesting to note that a field based on a most primal human need – touch, is thriving.