I'm kind of big on research. I like to study; I like facts. I'm from the Show-Me State, so maybe that's why...
Since The Massage Advantage is my company, we are big on research as well. So I'm happy to announce that we finally finished up our research on the effects of massage and anxiety!
We have collected 14 clinical trials and studies that prove that receiving massage on a regular basis reduces anxiety, stress and depression. You can see more research, as well as the citations to the studies below, by clicking the link to our website above.
Here is what we found out:
- Randomized controlled trial on sixty nurses for five week study on receiving a 15 minute back massage once a week. The control group did not receive any therapy. Anxiety and stress scores decreased over the five weeks for those participants who received a weekly massage. The stress and anxiety scores of the control group increased over the five week period.
- Thirty-four breast cancer patients were randomly assigned to a massage group or a control group. Patients of the massage group received two 30-min massages per week for 5 weeks. Depression and anxious depression were significantly reduced immediately after massage compared to the control group.
- This study evaluated the effectiveness of an on-site chair massage therapy program in reducing anxiety levels of employees. Subjects participated in the chair massage therapy program or break therapy (control group) for 6 weeks for 15 minutes a week. Significant reductions in anxiety and stress levels were found for the massage group.
- This pilot study on cardiovascular patients showed statistically and clinically significant decreases in pain, anxiety, and tension scores were observed for patients who received a 20-minute massage compared with those who received standard care.
- Forty patients with fibromyalgia were randomly assigned to a massage therapy group or a relaxation control group. The massage group attended a 50-min session twice per week for 3 weeks and the relaxation group relaxed in a lying down position on the same schedule. The massage therapy group showed decreases in depressed mood, anxiety and regional pain.
- This randomized, controlled clinical trial conducted from June 2008 to January 2009 was performed on eighty-two adult patients receiving inpatient treatment for psychoactive drug withdrawal. Chair massage was more effective in reducing anxiety than relaxation.
- In a 2010 study, therapist observation and patient feedback suggested that massage therapy may lead to a state of increased relaxation, decreased stress, decreased muscle tension, and improved sleep.
- Study to examine the effectiveness of a daily 20 minute massage therapy program in reducing stress, anxiety and aggression on a young adult psychiatric inpatient unit over seven weeks. There was a significant reduction in anxiety, resting heart rate and cortisol levels immediately following massage therapy sessions. Significant improvements in hostility and depression scores were observed. Massage therapy had immediate beneficial effects on anxiety-related measures.
- Twenty-four adult fibromyalgia patients were assigned randomly to a massage therapy or relaxation therapy group. They received 30-minute treatments twice weekly for 5 weeks. Both groups showed a decrease in anxiety and depressed mood immediately after the first and last therapy sessions. However, across the course of the study, only the massage therapy group reported an increase in the number of sleep hours and a decrease in their sleep movements. In addition, substance P levels decreased, and the patients' physicians assigned lower disease and pain ratings and rated fewer tender points in the massage therapy group.
- Adults were given a chair massage, and control group adults were asked to relax in a chair for 15 minutes, two times a week for five weeks. Frontal delta power increased for both groups, suggesting increased relaxation. The massage group showed decreased alpha and beta power, and increased speed and accuracy on math computations. At the end of the five-week period depression scores were lower for both groups but job stress decreased only for the massage group.
- Forty-six adults were randomly assigned to a massage therapy or a standard treatment control group. Those assigned to the massage therapy group were massaged by a therapist once a week for a 4-week period. The massage therapy group versus the control group had lower anxiety and depressed mood scores, as well as decreased sleep disturbances.
- Thirty-two people received ten 30-minute sessions of massage therapy or relaxation therapy over a five-week period. Subjects were randomly assigned to each group. Although both groups reported lower anxiety following their first and final sessions, only the massage therapy group showed behavioral and stress hormone changes, including a decrease in anxious behavior, heart rate and cortisol levels.
- Adult subjects were randomly assigned to a massage therapy, a transcutaneous electrical stimulation (TENS), or a transcutaneous electrical stimulation no-current group for 30-minute treatment sessions two times per week for 5 weeks. The massage therapy subjects reported lower anxiety and depression, and their cortisol levels were lower immediately after the therapy sessions on the first and last days of the study. The TENS group showed similar changes, but only after therapy on the last day of the study.
