Its Wednesday and time for Tidbit Massage Therapy Research From the AMTAs Research Roundup: Massage is Good Medicine Two independent clinical studies demonstrate that massage therapy eases pain and improves recovery time for people sufferieng from lower back injuries and burns. These findings emphasize what professional massage therapists know: massage is good medicine, said Nancy Porambo, AMTA President. Massage therapy provided by a professional massage therapist is being increasingly viewed by physicians and their patients as an important component of integrated care. Nearly 9 of 10 American consumers believe that massage can be effective in reducing pain. And, a growing body of clinical research continues to validate that. This week I will share about the burn study and next week about the low back pain study. MASSAGE TO REDUCE BURN SCARS In a separate study published in the journal BURNS, 146 burn patients with scars were randomly divided into two groups. All patients received standard rehabilitation therapy for hypertorophic-known as raised scars that are typically red, thick and may be itchy or painful-and 76 patients received additional burn scar rehabilitation massage therapy. Both before and after the treatment, researchers assessed the scar characteristics for thickness, melanin, erythema, transepidermal water loss (TEWL) sebum, and elasticity. While both groups showed improvement, the massage group showed a significant decrease in scar thickness, melanin, erythema, and TEWL. There was a significant intergroup difference in skin elasticity with the massage group showing substantial improvement. Reaserchers concluded that burn rehabilitation massage therapy is effective im improving pain, itching, and scarr characteristics in hypertrophic scars after a burn. References: Choa YS, Jeona JH, Hongb A, et.al. The effecto of burn rehabilitation massage on hypertrophic scar after burn: A randomized controlled trial. Burns, 2014:10.1016 JUST A TIDBIT of RESEARCH BEING DONE ABOUT HOW MASSAGE THERAPY IS A NECESSARY PART OF HEALTHCARE! Thanks for reading. Luata Bray, LMPc
Posted on: Wed, 17 Sep 2014 18:23:07 +0000
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