RESEARCH
THE
FINISHING TOUCH
Te study compared the results from Swedish massage to a lighter-touch treatment
BODY OF EVIDENCE
New scientific research shows that just one massage session can cause significant physiological changes KATIE BARNES » MANAGING EDITOR » SPA BUSINESS
A
nyone involved with spas will, of course, know about the benefits of massage. And proof of such claims is becoming increasingly
important if the industry is to be seen as offering more than just a pampering expe- rience (see sb10/3 p20). Smaller studies on the health benefits of massage do already exist, but research published last October* is believed to be the first systematic study of a larger group of healthy adults which focuses on the effects of massage. It revealed that even one massage can have real physical benefits within an hour of treatment.
STUDY SET UP
The researchers based at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles – who were sponsored by a division of US National Institutes of Health – focused on 53 men- tally and physically healthy adults who were aged between 18 to 45 years old. Twenty-nine participants received a
45-minute Swedish massage incorporating eff- leurage, petrissage, kneading, tapotement and thumb-friction techniques. Te massage was administered in prone and supine positions and used non-aromatic massage oils. Te other 24 subjects received a 45-minute mas- sage by the same therapist with an identical
protocol, except that the masseuse used only a light touch with the back of the hand. Before the massage, each subject was fit-
ted with an intravenous catheter in order to take blood samples. Samples were col- lected five minutes and one minute before the treatment began and one, five, 10, 15, 30 and 60 minutes aſterwards.
It was not only stress
levels that were affected. The study also found that a single massage session can have a acute affect on the immune system
MASSAGE BENEFITS
According to the results, people in the Swedish massage group experienced a large decrease in arginine vasopressin, a hormone that is under- stood to increase the stress hormone cortisol. In addition, Swedish massage also caused a small decrease in actual cortisol levels. It was not only stress levels that were affected, however. Te study found that a
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single massage session can also have “fairly profound acute affects on the immune sys- tem” based on the fact that people in the Swedish massage group had significant increased numbers of lymphocytes: white blood cells which play a large role in defend- ing the body from disease. Another finding was that Swedish massage
caused a notable decrease in cytokines – mol- ecules which carry signals between cells in the nervous system – produced by stimulated white blood cells. In particular, there was an absolute decrease in TH-2 cytokine levels, which are associated with allergic inflamma- tion ailments including asthma. Terefore, massage might be used as a “biological basis for reports that massage therapy mitigates the symptoms of asthma in children”. It was suggested that future research may
benefit from a greater number of study par- ticipants, although it is believed that “these biological differences [from the effects of massage] are likely to be real and replica- ble in a larger sample size”. l *Hyman Rapaport M et al. A Prelimi-
nary Study on the Effects of a Single Session of Swedish Massage on Hypothalamic-Pi- tuitary-Adrenal and Immune Function in Normal Individuals. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. Vol 16, No 10, p1079-1088. Oct 2010.
SPA BUSINESS 1 2011 ©Cybertrek 2011
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