Massage Therapy Research - Backed by Science
“In everything we’ve done, massage is significantly effective. There’s not a single condition we’ve looked at that hasn’t responded positively to massage. Massage works because it changes your whole physiology.”
-Tiffany Field, PhD.
Massage has a healing effect, most of us would agree. However, there are health benefits that have been studied through peer reviewed research that now finally show that massage does produce physiological changes in the body. This is based on science, and not just what we feel in our hearts about what we do at Madsen Massage.
We love to stay up to date with two of the most credible and well-respected sources for massage research that is happening today - the work of Tiffany Field, PhD. at the Touch Research Institute and The International Journal of Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork (IJTMB).
Our 1st pick: Tiffany Field, PhD. who founded the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami - Miller School of Medicine to study the effects of massage therapy on infants and adults. She is best known for her groundbreaking research that started in the 80s that showed that massage therapy help with growth among preterm infants. Numerous studies and their findings can be found by clicking the link above.
A close 2nd: The International Journal of Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork (IJTMB) is the official journal of the Massage Therapy Foundation and the Registered Massage Therapists Association of British Columbia that conducts peer-reviewed studies focusing on the science and physiological effects of touch on the body.
TIFFANY FIELD, PhD. OF THE TOUCH RESEARCH INSTITUTE (TRI)
We love the incredible work in massage research that Tiffany Field, PhD. of the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami - Miller School of Medicine, has done for our field. TRI was the first center in the world devoted solely to the study of touch and its applications in science and medicine in 1982.
She is most widely known for her research on the effects of massage therapy for preterm infants. For example, one of the studies in 1987 found that massage of preterm newborns stimulated enhanced weight gain and responsiveness. She has conducted numerous other studies which also show that massage therapy:
-Enhances attentiveness
-Alleviates depressive symptoms
-Reduces pain
-Reduces stress hormones
-Improves immune function
So massage is more than something that just feels good - it has physiological effects on the whole body.
THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF THERAPEUTIC MASSAGE & BODYWORK (IJTMB)
The IJTMB includes numerous abstracts and studies showing that massage therapy has been beneficial for the following:
-Release of endorphins (body’s natural pain killers)
-Improves range of motion at the joints
-Reduces post-surgery adhesions & edema (swelling)
-Facilitates weight gain in preterm infants
-Reduces stress hormones and improves immune function in preterm babies
-Reduces shortening of muscles
-Reduces the levels of cortisol (stress hormone)
HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL
Harvard Medical School published an article on the subject of how touch can have healing benefits as well. It was found that “massage therapy can help relieve pain, speed recovery from injury or surgery, and reduce stress.” The article quotes a few recent studies that found massage helps with muscle soreness, low back pain and surgery pain. It can be one of the “best types of medicine - if you approach it as such.” This is how we approach massage at our business. We provide therapeutic massage therapy that feels wonderful and is backed by science. More research is needed in our field, however we are coming along.