OBJECTIVE To determine whether massage could help preterm infants improve weight gain, discharge from the hospital earlier, and promote the neurobehavioral development, a meta-analysis was conducted. STUDY DESIGN MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, Dissertation Abstracts, and the Cochrane Library were searched up to January 2012. There were no language restrictions. RESULTS In all, 611 articles were r...

background: tension and stress are among the factors that lead to hypertension. in most individuals, behavioral strategies, such as relaxation and massage, are effective in controlling the individuals’ response to stress, thus reducing hypertension. methods: this non-blind clinical trial was conducted on 90 patients with primary hypertension. the patients were randomly divided into a control an...

BACKGROUND Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is a frequent problem after unaccustomed exercise. No universally accepted treatment exists. Massage therapy is often recommended for this condition but uncertainty exists about its effectiveness. AIM To determine whether post-exercise massage alleviates the symptoms of DOMS after a bout of strenuous exercise. METHOD Various computerised liter...

Massage, together with breast-feeding, are the two fundamental nurturing practices of women in south Asia. In Mithila women are expected to massage their infants daily. If they do not, they lay themselves open to censure. Implicit in massage is the idea that a child's health is preserved by fostering its strength and invulnerability. Massage 'works' by instilling fearlessness, hardening bone st...

Purpose Massage therapy is very popular in the U.S. and rated by patients as helpful self-care modality. It is used for a variety of conditions: most commonly for chronic pain and musculoskeletal problems, but also to alleviate stress, anxiety, and depression. It has been reported that changes in regional cerebral blood flow measured by PET scanning when palm-pressure back massage was applied t...

background: fatigue can cause a significant effect on the mechanics of complex motor skills and reduce physical and mental efficiency. one of the common ways to reduce fatigue is passive recovering or using massage and cryotherapy after exercise. the present study aimed to compare the effects of massage and cryotherapy on muscles fatigue and isokinetic parameters. methods: this study was conduc...

As part of our interview editorial series, we bring forth a discussion with Dr. Glenn M. Hymel, the Founding Executive Editor of the International Journal of Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork. Dr. Hymel embodies the qualities set forth for the American Massage Therapy Association Dianne Polseno Lifetime Achievement Award, which he received in 2017. He has provided leadership and shown outstandin...

Massage therapy is commonly used following endurance running races with the expectation that it will enhance post-run recovery of muscle function and reduce soreness. A limited number of studies have reported little or no influence of massage therapy on post-exercise muscle recovery. However, no studies have been conducted in a field setting to assess the potential for massage to influence musc...

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of abdominal massage on feeding tolerance in stable preterm infants fed minimal enteral nutrition. METHODS The study was conducted on a control-grouped pre-test, post-test quasi-experimental design at the neonatal intensive care unit of a university hospital in Turkey between March and July 2012. Abdominal massage was applied to th...

OBJECTIVE To study the effect of oil massage on growth and neurobehavior in preterm babies less than 1500 g. DESIGN Randomized Controlled Trial. SETTING Tertiary level neonatal unit of a teaching hospital. SUBJECTS Neonates with birth weight <1500 grams, gestation >37 weeks, receiving enteral feeds of at least 100 mL/kg/day and less than 10 days of age. OUTCOME VARIABLES Primary-Weight ...