Massage Therapy: Easing Ilness Hands-On

Massage has commonly been sought out to ease back and neck problems as well as fatigue. Massage not only can feel good — relieving muscle cramps and tightness — it also may ease the uncomfortable effects of some ailments.

"Research studies are showing that massage therapy can improve circulation; quicken recovery from musculoskeletal injuries; reduce swelling, pain, and anxiety; and promote relaxation," says Karen Kavanagh, director of Meridian Life Fitness and Rehabilitation.

Here’s a sampling of studies showing some surprising benefits of massage:

• Alzheimer’s disease: Slow-stroke, neck-and-shoulder massages helped people with Alzheimer’s disease reduce the pacing, irritability, and restlessness commonly associated with this disease.



• Severe burns: In one study, burn patients were given a 20-minute massage before wound-care sessions. After five days, they reported less pain and anxiety than other burn patients.



• Fibromyalgia: Fibromyalgia can cause pain, disturbed sleep, anxiety, and depression. When researchers provided patients with 30-minute massages twice a week, their pain, depression, and anxiety scores all went down — along with stiffness, fatigue, and troubled sleep.



• Smoking: A group of smokers were taught how to massage their own ears or hands when they felt a craving for a cigarette. After a month, they were smoking fewer cigarettes, had improved moods, and had fewer withdrawal symptoms than a group who didn’t practice self-massage.