The Effect of Massage on Stress

Stress is a fact of life. We’ve all experienced it and sometimes we are under so much stress that our bodies respond in negative ways. Stress is a factor in headaches, chronic tension in musculature, and lowered immunity. Let’s face it, stress is a normal and necessary function in life, and we are not getting away from it! It is how we choose to manage our stress that makes all the difference in how it shows up in our bodies and minds.

The Diverse Ways Stress Affects the Body

Stress has been found to lower immunity, which can make our bodies more susceptible to infection and disease. Ongoing physical and mental stress contribute to tension-type headaches which is the most common type of headaches people experience. Studies indicate stress as a factor in a variety of conditions; I have chosen a few to discuss below.

Got Allergies? Cortisol is a powerful anti-inflammatory hormone that our body naturally produces. Our bodies naturally respond to stress by increasing the rate in which they release Cortisol, and over time will deplete the reserves. Without our own natural anti-inflammatory system, our bodies react more severely to pollen, wheat, cat dander, and other common allergens. Stress is a main contributing factor in allergies!

Stress also contributes to ulcers in a different manner than previously thought. It is parasympathetic relief from stress that triggers the Gastrointestinal system to resume normal function before the stomach has had time to heal from the sympathetic stress response. Decreasing the frequency and reducing the intensity of stress would help ease this harmful cycle. Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is also directly related to anxiety and stress. Despite the common perception that stress is the cause of dis-ease, it is not the presence of stress but how the person handles the stress in their life. 20-30% of the U.S. population may experience IBS at some point and 10% of the population will have at least 1 ulcer in their lifetime.

Even ‘healthy, strapping young people’ fall victim to stress. Stress is one of the 5 main factors that cause acne. It upsets endocrine balance and slows activity of immune cells, therefore the macrophages in skin can not fight off bacteria in sebaceous glands. As many of us can remember, the eruption of acne simply leads to more stress, and the vicious cycle continues. Imagine if adolescents had the knowledge and awareness to handle stress in a healthy manner that could result in less acne as well as less stress!

Review of Literature

Plenty of empirical evidence links stress to dis-ease in the body, but less research exists on the effectiveness of stress management techniques, especially massage. One study published in the British Journal of General Practice, “Randomised controlled trial of therapeutic massage in the management of stress,” by Janet Hanley, Pamela Stirling, and Christina Brown aimed to compare the stress- reducing effects of therapeutic massage to relaxation tapes. The study was comprised of 69 surgery patients who were divided into three groups: one received a relaxation tape to use at home over six weeks, one would receive six massage sessions in the surgery at weekly intervals, and the third would receive six sessions of listening to the relaxation tape during surgery at weekly intervals. A variety of measures were used to determine stress-reduction effectiveness including a general health questionnaire, sleep index, General Practitioner consultations, and a well being index.

Significant improvements in all measures were experienced in each treatment group. In this study, massage was not found to be more effective than relaxation tapes, but patients strongly preferred therapeutic massage for stress reduction. Since the local general practitioners already used relaxation tapes to help patients cope with stress, this study did not include a control group who did not use any means of stress management. The study did indicate that some patients who were taking stress-reduction medication prior to using the tapes or having massage decreased or stopped the medication. (Hanley et al 2003)

A pilot study compared massage, mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), and standard care for chronic pain management. It suggests that both massage and MBSR techniques provided more relief than standard care alone. Since the study’s purpose was to analyze the feasibility of a larger study, the evidence is only suggestive but it does provide a helpful comparison to a control group. (Plews-Ogan et al 2005)

Another small study involved frequent chronic tension headache sufferers and the effects of muscle-specific massage therapy techniques to the frequency of their headaches. All subjects experienced a decrease in frequency of headaches within the first week of the study and through the remaining six months of the study. Participants also experienced a reduction in the duration of each headache. (Quinn et al 2002)

Each study touches merely the tip of the iceberg when it comes to empirically proving the effects of massage on stress and the body’s reaction. They do, however, lay groundwork for future research studies, and indicate that massage as well as other relaxation techniques provide the body with much needed help in reducing stress. Future studies could be more reliable and influential by including larger populations, a more neutral control group, and using a specific massage technique or formula.

Conclusion

Stress is a fact of life but we have the choice in how we cope with stress. Massage is an enjoyable, feel-good, and helpful stress reduction technique. Even greater benefit exists when massage is integrated with a regime of lifestyle changes, listening to relaxation tapes/CDs, and mindfulness practices like yoga, tai chi, and meditation. According to Deane Juhan, “it is the group which is given both stress and some means of coping which will continue to exhibit the soundest physical health and most alert, well-adjusted responses to psychological testing.” (Juhan 2003) May we all find our method to cope with the inevitable: stress.

References

1. Hanley, Jane; Stirling, Pamela; Brown, Christina. Randomised controlled trial of therapeutic massage in the management of stress. British Journal of General Practice. January 2003: 20-25.

2. Plews-Ogan, MD, Margaret; Owens, PhD., Justine E.; Goodman, MD, Matthew, Wolfe, BS, Pamela; Schorling, MD, John. Brief Report: A Piolt Study Evaluating Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and Massage for the Management of Chronic Pain. Journal of General Internal Medicine. 2005: 1136-1138.

3. Quinn, DC, Christopher; Chandler, BS, Clint; Moraska, PhD, Albert. Massage Therapy and Frequency of Chronic Tension Headaches. American Journal of Public Health. October 2002: 1657-1661.

4. Juhan, Deane. Job’s Body - A Handbook for Bodywork. Barrytown: Barrytown/Station Hill Press, 2003: 303.

Bibliography

Werner, Ruth. A Massage Therapist’s Guide to Pathology, 3rd Edition. Philidelphia: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins, 2005.