Massage and Chronic Pain
Massage can ease chronic pain. Massage therapy research shows how chronic pain can be relieved.
Everyone probably knows at least one person who is suffering from some form of chronic pain.
It is a very debilitating and isolating experience because you cannot actually see pain. Massage therapy can be effective in reducing pain.
Pain Statistics
In Canada, one in ten people suffer from chronic pain. According to the 2001 Ipsos Reid National Canadian Pain study, that's about 31% of Canadians. In the U.S., the American Pain Association estimated that chronic pain affected approximately 86 million Americans (2001).
Can Massage Relieve Pain?
Pain is noted to be the most frequent complaint brought to physicians in North America. Medical authorities define pain as a subjective feeling that cannot be observed or even measured directly, and it is often explained away by the stress concept or as a result of mental stress. It comes as no surprise then, why so many people seek alternative ways to deal with their pain. In 1997, a U.S. health survey showed that consumers spent between 4 and 6 billion dollars on massage. The American Massage Therapy Association noted that 47% of the people polled in a consumer survey used massage therapy to relieve and manage their pain, and 91% said massage therapy was effective in reducing pain.
Pain Relief
In ancient Greece and Rome, it was actually the physicians who utilised massage as one of the primary methods to treat pain. Today, massage therapists are some of the best trained people to deal with myofascial and musculoskeletal pain syndromes. Why? Because that's what they are trained to do. Massage therapists are trained in anatomy, physiology, and pathology, and they spend many hours physically palpating and manipulating the muscles and soft tissue of the body. Whether it is lower back pain, arthritis or fibromyalgia, massage may be able to relieve the associated pain.
What Massage Therapy Research Says
The Touch Research Institute has conducted over 90 clinical studies on the beneficial effects of massage therapyon a variety of conditions. The following are summaries of some of the studies conducted on the effects of massage therapy on pain:
- Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis - Parents massaged their arthritic children and found they experienced less pain and had less morning stiffness following the massage(Field et al, 1997).
- Labor Pain - Massage therapy was given to pregnant women during labor and they demonstrated a decrease in anxiety and pain as well as had shorter hospital stays (Field et al, 1997).
- Fibromyalgia - Patients with fibromyalgia slept better and had less pain following a month of biweekly massages. (Field et al, 2002).
- Back Pain - Participants with low back pain were found to have a reduction in pain and an increase in their mobility after massage therapy (Hernandez-Reif et al, 2001).
The exciting part about all of this research is that it gives a renewed sense of hope for chronic pain sufferers. There is something that can be done for pain. Research has clearly shown that massage therapy is one way to alleviate pain, either alone, or in conjunction with another form of therapy such as chiropractic treatment. As there are always differences in individual experiences of pain, it is always advisable to consult with your physician for diagnosis and treatment advice.
© Copyright, Sylvia Carlson 2006. Reproduction without permission prohibited.
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