Massage Therapy: What You Need To Know

What is massage therapy used for?

Massage therapy is used to help manage a health condition or enhance wellness. It involves manipulating the soft tissues of the body. Massage has been practiced in most cultures, both Eastern and Western, throughout human history, and was one of the earliest tools that people used to try to relieve pain.

What are the different types of massage?

The term “massage therapy” includes many techniques. The most common form of massage therapy in Western countries is called Swedish or classical massage; it is the core of most massage training programs. Other styles include sports massage, clinical massage to accomplish specific goals such as releasing muscle spasms, and massage traditions derived from Eastern cultures, such as Shiatsu and Tuina.

Do massages help pain?

Massage therapy has been studied for several types of pain, including low-back pain, neck and shoulder pain, pain from osteoarthritis of the knee, and headaches. Here’s what the science says:

• Low-Back Pain
• Neck and Shoulder Pain
• Osteoarthritis of the Knee
• Headaches

Can massage help cancer patients?

With appropriate precautions, massage therapy can be part of supportive care for cancer patients who would like to try it.  Oncology massage can help with pain 47%, fatigue 42%, anxiety 59%, nausea 51% and depression 48%.  This is a relaxation healing massage.  Reiki can be used in conjunction with massage as well which is working with healing energy.  It is very gentle and restorative. 

• Massage therapy, with or without aromatherapy (the use of essential oils) has been used to attempt to relieve pain, anxiety, and other symptoms in people with cancer. A 2016 evaluation of 19 studies (more than 1,200 participants) of massage for cancer patients found some evidence that massage helped with pain and anxiety.
• Clinical practice guidelines (guidance for health care providers) for the care of breast cancer patients include massage as one of several approaches that may be helpful for stress reduction, anxiety, depression, fatigue, and quality of life. Clinical practice guidelines for the care of lung cancer patients suggest that massage therapy could be added as part of supportive care in patients whose anxiety or pain is not adequately controlled by usual care.
• Massage therapists may need to modify their usual techniques when working with cancer patients; for example, they may have to use less pressure than usual in areas that are sensitive because of cancer or cancer treatments.  An oncology massage therapist who is trained in this area will have the skills to assist the oncology client.

Can massage be helpful for fibromyalgia symptoms?

Massage therapy may be helpful for some fibromyalgia symptoms if it’s continued for long enough.

• A 2014 evaluation of 9 studies (404 total participants) concluded that massage therapy, if continued for at least 5 weeks, improved pain, anxiety, and depression in people with fibromyalgia but did not have an effect on sleep disturbance.
• A 2015 evaluation of 10 studies (478 total participants) compared the effects of different kinds of massage therapy and found that most styles of massage had beneficial effects on quality of life in people with fibromyalgia. Swedish massage may be an exception; 2 studies of this type of massage (56 total participants) did not show benefits.

For more information, see NCCIH’s fact sheet on fibromyalgia.

Can massage therapy be helpful for people with HIV/AIDS?

There’s some evidence that massage therapy may have benefits for anxiety, depression, and quality of life in people with HIV/AIDS, but the amount of research and number of people studied are small.

• Massage therapy may help improve the quality of life for people with HIV or AIDS, a 2010 review of 4 studies with a total of 178 participants concluded.
• More recently, a 2013 study of 54 people indicated that massage may be helpful for depression in people with HIV, and a 2017 study of 29 people with HIV suggested that massage may be helpful for anxiety.

Does massage help baby growth?

There’s evidence that premature babies who are massaged may have improved weight gain. No benefits of massage for normal full-term infants have been clearly demonstrated.

• A 2017 research review analyzed the results of 34 studies of massage therapy for premature infants. Twenty of the studies (1,250 total infants) evaluated the effect of massage on weight gain, with most showing an improvement. The mechanism by which massage therapy might increase weight gain is not well understood. Some studies suggested other possible benefits of massage but because the amount of evidence is small, no conclusions can be reached about effects other than weight gain.
• A 2013 review of 34 studies of healthy full-term infants didn’t find clear evidence of beneficial effects of massage in these low-risk infants.