| Massage is well known for reducing stress and | | | | massage for pain relief: |
| promoting relaxation. And, a growing body of | | | | - Massage therapy is more effective for chronic |
| research also shows that massage therapy is | | | | back pain than other complementary therapies. |
| effective for relieving and managing chronic and | | | | - Massage therapy promotes relaxation and |
| acute pain, a significant national health problem. | | | | alleviates the perception of pain and anxiety in |
| According to the National Institute for Health, | | | | cancer patients. |
| more than one-third of all Americans will suffer | | | | - Massage therapy reduces post-traumatic |
| from chronic pain at some point in their lives, and | | | | headaches better than cold pack treatments. |
| approximately 14 percent of all employees take | | | | - A pilot study conducted at Cedars-Sinai Medical |
| time off from work due to pain. Increasingly, | | | | Center in Los Angeles found that massage, as |
| massage therapists are being incorporated into | | | | part of hospital-based surgery treatment, reduces |
| pain management programs of hospitals and | | | | pain and muscle spasms in patients who have |
| health care organizations. The Joint Commission on | | | | undergone heart bypass surgery. |
| Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations has | | | | - Massage stimulates the brain to produce |
| suggested massage therapy as one means to | | | | endorphins. |
| manage pain without use of pharmaceuticals. | | | | How does massage relieve pain? |
| According to a recent American Hospital | | | | - A simple and direct strategy: working from the |
| Association survey about their use of CAM | | | | external, outer mechanisms of pain to the |
| (complementary and alternative medicine) | | | | primary, root cause. |
| therapies, among the 1,007 hospitals responding, | | | | - Focuses on the entire body system and its |
| nearly 82 percent of the hospitals offering CAM | | | | relationship to soft tissue - not solely on the site |
| therapies included massage therapy among their | | | | of pain. |
| health care offerings -- with more than 70 | | | | Benefits of massage for pain relief |
| percent utilizing massage therapy for pain | | | | - Helps patients become more aware of their |
| management and relief. In a recent consumer | | | | bodies and the sources of pain. |
| survey commissioned by AMTA, 91 percent of | | | | - Better familiarizes patients with the pain they |
| respondents agreed that massage can be | | | | experience. |
| effective in reducing pain, and nearly half of those | | | | - Has an impact on the patient by virtue of |
| polled (47 percent) have had a massage | | | | human touch. |
| specifically for the purpose of relieving pain. | | | | - Improves confidence by encouraging patients to |
| Consider recent clinical research on the efficacy of | | | | effectively cope with their pain. |