Research Continues to Show the Benefits of Massage Therapy

Although many people enjoy massage therapy just for the sheer pleasure of it, massage also has many measurable therapeutic benefits. Many in the mainstream medical community have embraced it for its ability to help patients manage pain, relieve anxiety and improve overall health.

Peer-reviewed research continues to show significant benefits of massage. For example, in the last three years:

• Researchers at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, published a study in the Journal of Pediatric Psychology (2009) that showed how massage therapy can be used to reduce pain, anxiety and depression in children suffering from Sickle Cell Disease.


• A study sponsored by the Institute of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health (2008) revealed that a therapeutic massage can immediately reduce pain and improve the mood of people suffering with advanced forms of cancer.


• The German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) reported that classic massage, Thai massage and acupressure can help relieve lower back pain (2010).


• A first-of-its-kind study published in the Journal of Patient Safety (2010) revealed that 50 percent of hospital patients can enjoy significant relief from postsurgical via "non-traditional" methods such as massage therapy.


• An issue of the Mayo Clinic Health Letter (April 2010) cites massage techniques as an effective treatment for fibromyalgia.


• Researchers in Cedars-Sinai's Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences have reported in Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (2010) that people who undergo massage experience measureable changes in their body's immune and endocrine response.

According to O*Net Online, the online employment resource sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor, job growth for massage therapists is projected to be "faster than average" for the 10-year period between 2008-2018.* During this period, demand for massage therapists is expected to increase 14 percent to 19 percent nationwide. Local demand will, of course, depend on local economic factors.