Massage therapy can provide substantial healing and pain relief for many lower back problems. Specifically, for pain caused by a strain in the back, when targeted at the right muscle, the pain can be controlled at its source for faster, longer lasting relief. Most healthcare providers recognize massage therapy as a legitimate aid for low back pain and an effective adjunct to lower back treatments. 54 percent of healthcare providers say they will encourage their patients to follow massage therapy in addition to medical treatment.
Massage can be a useful adjunct to conventional medical care for back pain. Can reduce discomfort and get you back on your feet faster. The new study randomly assigned 400 adults with moderate to severe low back pain lasting at least three months to receive weekly full-body massages to relax, weekly massages that focused on specific muscle problems around the lower back and hips, or regular care. The study was funded by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
Published in Annals of Internal Medicine. Experts who did not participate in the study agree. But Chou and others, including the study's researchers, say exercise is likely to offer far greater benefits than massage for people who have been battling back pain for a long time, and stress that people should not assume that massage alone will eliminate low back pain for always. Wilson says he would have liked to have seen more objective measures of function included in the study, such as the spinal range of motion evaluated by researchers, rather than simply relying on self-reports from study participants.
People were not included in the study if their back pain could be attributed to a specific cause, such as fractures, cancer, or spinal stenosis, if they had surgery for their back problems in the past three years, or if they had an underlying medical condition, such as fibromyalgia or rheumatoid arthritis that would complicate pain treatment. Study participants were randomly assigned to receive Swedish massages to relax or a more specific type of structural massage that focused on specific muscle and connective tissue problems that could affect the lower back. All study participants were followed up for one year. After six months, many of the improvements experienced by the massage group had persisted, but were negligible after a year, the study shows.
The study had limitations, researchers say, particularly that people receiving regular care knew they were missing out on massages received by other participants. That could have led them to exaggerate the symptoms they reported to the researchers, making the massage seem more effective than it actually was. A popular treatment option that can help reduce back pain is massage therapy. However, in some cases, massage therapy can worsen back pain if the condition you are suffering from requires other treatment.
In these situations, massage therapy will not be effective in reducing back pain and may even make it worse. Massage is an excellent, non-invasive way to relieve back tension and pain associated with it. Massage therapy for back pain can also be a very useful relaxation technique because it releases endorphins, which create feelings of euphoria and happiness in the brain. The adjusted mean RDQ score was 2.9 points (95% CI, 1.8 to 4.0 points) lower in the relaxation group and 2.5 points (CI, 1.4 to 3.5 points) lower in the structural massage group than in the usual care group, and the adjusted mean symptom discomfort scores were 1.7 points (CI, 1.2 to 2.2 points) lower with relaxation massage and 1.4 points (CI, 0.8 to 1.9 points) lower with structural massage.
All massage therapists had at least five years of experience, and some had additional and specialized training to provide the focused structural massage technique. Transparency will help your therapist better manage pain by taking time to focus on pressure points and areas of tension. Scheduling a biweekly or monthly appointment with your preferred therapist is important to continue healing. Meanwhile, massage offers relief in addition to conventional care, such as taking anti-inflammatory pain relievers, staying as active as possible, receiving physical therapy, and waiting for the body to heal.
Acupuncture, exercise therapy, multidisciplinary rehabilitation programs, massage, behavioral therapy, and spinal manipulation are effective in certain clinical situations. Massage therapy refers to different techniques of manipulating the soft tissues of the body to treat symptoms and health conditions. Massage is also an option for neck, knee, or hip pain, headaches, or other discomfort related to muscles, joints, and connective tissue. No clinically significant difference was observed between relaxation and structural massage in terms of relief of disability or symptoms.
Many physicians in the medical community are promoting massage as a viable option to reduce back pain, or for massage to be used in conjunction with other procedures to facilitate faster recovery time. This randomized controlled trial compared comprehensive massage therapy (soft tissue manipulation, corrective exercise, and postural education), 2 components of massage therapy, and placebo in the treatment of subacute low back pain (1 week to 8 months). . .
