Research Shows Massage is a Natural Pain Remedy

More often than not, massage does provide a certain degree of pain relief. But as to whether this relief is merely psychological or not has always been debated.

Lately, a review of computer databases was done to look for evidence of massage therapy’s power to provide natural pain remedy. Existing research has shown mixed results, indicating that massage can be effective for some conditions while providing only modest relief for others.

Massage has repeatedly been anecdotally proven to provide pain relief; therefore, different studies have been done to try to study the relationship between massage and therapeutic pain relief. Unfortunately, evidence has been inconsistent. Also, different reviews frequently try to establish the relationship between massage therapy and one painful condition at a time; therefore, evidence will vary based on which condition is being studied.

Because of this inconsistency, a review was done to help prove the pain relief brought about by massage for many non-malignant and chronic conditions.

How was this evidence gathered?

The review focused on research that tried to study massage as a standalone treatment, rather than as an adjunct to other pain treatment modalities. This helps ensure that any pain relief from drugs and other treatment will not be misconstrued as having been brought about by massage.

Results of the review showed that massage is effective, but in different degrees, depending on the condition.

Which painful conditions may benefit only slightly from massage therapy?

• Fibromyalgia. Past studies showed that there is only modest supporting research to back up the beneficial effects of massage on pain due to fibromyalgia.
• Neck pain. Evidence is not very strong regarding the therapeutic effects of massage therapy on neck pain.
• Carpal tunnel syndrome. Carpal tunnel syndrome is a repetitive injury causing hand and wrist pain. Unfortunately, research does not provide strong support for the beneficial effects of massage on pain from carpal tunnel syndrome.

What conditions have been proven to benefit from massage therapy?

For a short list of painful conditions which massage therapy has been proven to relieve, read this.

Source: “Effectiveness of Massage Therapy for Chronic, Non-malignant Pain: A Review” by Jennie Tsao