By Massage Therapy Foundation Contributor and Massage Today, Contributed By Derek R. Austin, MS CMT, Jolie Haun, PhD EdS LMT, Sandra K. Anderson, BA, LMT, ABT
If a weekly massage is helpful for stress relief and immune function, then two weekly massages must be twice as beneficial, right? The results might surprise you.
The Massage Therapy Foundation's previous monthly research columns have reported research suggesting massage may reduce pain, stress, depression, anxiety and cortisol levels, and enhance certain immune function parameters. However, how massage produces these outcomes remains a largely unanswered question. In a new study published in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, Dr. Mark Rapaport and his colleagues investigated the mechanisms of repeated massage.
The authors compared once and twice-weekly Swedish massage to two equivalent doses of light touch. Fifty-three participants were randomized to one of four intervention groups: five weeks of Swedish massage once-weekly or twice-weekly, or control light-touch once-weekly or twice-weekly. Eight of the 53 participants did not complete the five-week protocol for reasons unrelated to the study intervention, leaving 45 participants (22 male and 23 female). Therapy sessions of 45 minutes were performed by licensed massage therapists using a standardized, specified protocol with nonaromatic oils. The light-touch condition followed the same protocol as the Swedish massage except that the therapist used only light touch with the back of the hand. Blood neuroendocrine and immune samples and salivary cortisol samples were collected prior to and following the therapy sessions.
The twice-weekly massage group demonstrated greater changes in oxytocin, arginine vasopressin, ACTH, and cortisol than the twice-weekly touch group. Twice-weekly massage also increased mean pretreatment levels of CD56+ cells, but decreased all other circulating immune markers. Changes in pretreatment levels of cytokines in the once-weekly group were similar to the authors' previous study showing sustained decreases in many pro-inflammatory and other cytokines. Interestingly, these decreases in markers of inflammation were not observed in the twice-weekly intervention groups. The authors note that the weekly massages were separated by 7 to 8 days, while the twice-weekly sessions were separated by 3 to 4 days; therefore, observed differences may represent differences in length of time between sessions. Heart rate variability was also measured, but no differences were found between the groups. This is not surprising, since young, healthy (i.e. relatively unstressed) sample participants were studied.