Massage and Immune Function

This week in our massage therapy research, I came across these two clinical studies showing the positive effects of massage on immune function, that will soon be added to our research section of our website. Here's to feeling good!

Study shows that a single session of massage therapy produces measurable biologic effects on the immune system. These findings may have implications for managing inflammatory and autoimmune conditions. (Rapaport, M., Schettler, P., Bresee, C. A Preliminary Study of the Effects of a Single Session of Swedish Massage on Hypothalamic–Pituitary–Adrenal and Immune Function in Normal Individuals. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, October 2010, 16(10): 1079-1088. http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/abs/10.1089/acm.2009.0634)

Study measured the effects of a 20-minute massage on spouses of patients with cancer randomly assigned to either the experimental or control group. The major dependent variables including natural killer cell activity, heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, mood, and perceived stress were measured at the three time points to examine the effects of massage. Findings suggest that massage may enhance mood and reduce perceived stress, thereby preventing stress from negatively affecting immune function. (Goodfellow, LM. The Effects of Therapeutic Back Massage on Psychophysiologic Variables and Immune Function in Spouses of Patients with Cancer. Nursing Research, 2003 Sep-Oct; 52(5): 318-28. http://journals.lww.com/nursingresearchonline/Abstract/2003/09000/The_Effects_of_Therapeutic_Back_Massage_on.6.aspx)