OBJECTIVES The objective of this study was to determine the change in blood pressure (BP) in normotensive and prehypertensive adults resulting from a therapeutic massage, and the factors associated with such changes, including demographic and massage characteristics. DESIGN SETTINGS/LOCATION National University of Health Sciences Massage Therapy Clinic, Lombard, IL. SUBJECTS The subjects...

Massage is considered as one of the oldest therapy used to treat various ailments. It was not only used as a preventive measure but also as a measure to cure disease. Ayurveda being a holistic system of medicine has emphasized the utility of Massage in various conditions. Ayurveda explained Massage as Abhyanga which infers anointing the body. Abhyanga not only prevents and delays normal ageing ...

I feel that it is important to know the stories behind those who are working hard in the field to bring forward massage therapy research. Interviews with massage therapy researchers will now occasionally be included in the Journal as a new editorial feature. The first interview is with Virginia S. Cowen, PhD, LMT a New York State-licensed and NCB board-certified massage therapist with a PhD fro...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS In recent years, the nursing profession used technology and pharmacology to relieve conditions such as pain, anxiety and insomnia that were once treated with massage. However, interest in massage has grown with the move to more holistic nursing. This review examines the physiological and psychological effects of slow-stroke back massage and hand massage on relaxation in olde...

Automated massage machines have been widely used in family for the past few years, but there was limit scientific evidence to support for them positive effects. This paper aims to evaluate the massage effects on recovery of muscle fatigue and explore the optimal massage machine design parameters. Two subjects participated in prone bridge exercises to make the erector spinae muscles fatigue befo...

Many chiropractors either perform some type of massage on their patients or have a massage therapist in their office. The term therapeutic massage (TM) is a general, nonspecific term referring to any type of massage, from superficial to deep, that may have a healing effect. Most massage therapists1 "train in multiple programs and therapies and there is high variability in the training programs ...

BACKGROUND Low back pain (LBP) is one of the most common and costly musculoskeletal problems in modern society. Proponents of massage therapy claim it can minimize pain and disability and speed return-to-normal function. OBJECTIVES To assess the effects of massage therapy for nonspecific LBP. SEARCH STRATEGY We searched MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Controlled Trials Register, HealthSTAR, CINAH...

BACKGROUND Although there is evidence that client expectations influence client outcomes, a valid and reliable scale for measuring the range of client expectations for both massage therapy and the behaviors of their massage therapists does not exist. Understanding how client expectations influence client outcomes would provide insight into how massage achieves its reported effects. PURPOSE To...

BACKGROUND One of the challenges in conducting research in the field of massage and bodywork is the lack of consistent terminology for describing the treatments given by massage therapists. The objective of this study was to develop a taxonomy to describe what massage therapists actually do when giving a massage to patients with musculoskeletal pain. METHODS After conducting a review of the m...

BACKGROUND Belief in efficacy of CAM therapies has been sparsely reported and may be different than reported use of the therapy. PURPOSE The aim of this study was to identify efficacy beliefs of massage for muscle recovery following a 10-km running race. SETTING Finish zone of a 10-km race. RESEARCH DESIGN Participants completed a brief survey regarding running race characteristics, prior...