Optimal Wellness Through Massage

An extensive amount of research has been conducted on the effects of massage therapy. Research data has shown that massage produces measurable biological effects and may have an effect on the immune system.[1] While some of this scientific evidence is preliminary it has shown that massage can also help with back pain, neck pain, headaches, extremity pain and may improve quality of life for people with depression, cancer, HIV/AIDS and when utilized appropriately and provided by a trained professional, massage therapy appears to have few risks.[2]

Massage therapy focuses on the muscle and other superficial soft tissues of the body to help alleviate tension, inflammation, and pain via the application of manual hands-on techniques. The goal of massage is to establish and maintain good physical condition and health by normalizing and improving muscle tone, promoting relaxation, stimulating circulation, and producing therapeutic effects on the respiratory and nervous systems.[3]

So what is massage therapy?

Swedish massage utilizes long strokes, kneading, deep circular movements, vibration, and tapping.

Deep tissue massage focuses on certain painful, stiff "trouble spots" in your body and utilizes slow, deliberate strokes that focus pressure the muscles, tendons, or other tissues deep under your skin and provides relief from chronic patterns of tension and injuries such as back sprain.[4]

Structural massage, also known as myofascial release, manipulates the soft tissues within the body using different angles and degrees of physical pressure to stretch and guide fascia to a place of easier movement.[5] Research has shown that this style of massage produces positive effects on pain, anxiety, depression, fatigue, and stiffness in those suffering with fibromyalgia.[6]

Myofascial trigger point therapy is most effectively utilized in the treatment of chronic and acute pain. Postural holding patterns, emotional stresses and work-related muscular usage all contribute to areas of contracted muscle that develop firm nodules or taut bands know as trigger points which most of the time we aren’t even aware of. When pressed, trigger points are painful and are associated with pain elsewhere in the body and without direct intervention to eliminate them will not go away on their own.[7]

So what exactly does medical research say about massage?

Since 2008, the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) a division of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services has taken an active role in not only reviewing the available literature but has also funded clinical trials on massage therapy. This is what they have discovered:

- Massage therapy helped reduce pain, improve function, and decrease the use of anti-inflammatory medication more effectively than usual medical care[8] in people with chronic low-back pain.[9]

- Massage therapy led to statistically significant improvements in neck pain severity, pain-related disability and function, and in one study participants reported a 14% decrease in the use of pain medication.[10] [11]

- A 2012 study found that a 60 minute massage once per week exhibited significant improvements in pain, function, and global response compared with those receiving usual care medical care for osteoarthritis of the knee.[12]

Aside from the research conducted by the NCCIH there have been other studies that have found myofascial therapy to also be an effective form of treatment for conditions such as tension type headache [13] [14] [15] [16], temporomandibular joint (a.k.a. TMJ) pain[17], and chronic shoulder pain.[18]

Chronic muscular restriction can inhibit essential physiologic processes such as blood flow, lymphatic drainage, nerve conduction, and cellular metabolism which can, over time, affect our overall health. The primary reason for the therapeutic effects of massage therapy is that it increases blood flow in small vessels that has been impeded due to muscle tension and that leads to better and faster recovery around the muscle tissue which in turn improves the range of motion, reduces swelling, and has pain-reducing properties.[19] [20]

Dr.Sean Konrad at Life in Motion Chiropractic and Wellness applies a collection of skills when performing therapeutic myofascial treatment, however the type of therapy performed will depend on your needs and physical condition.

Dr. Konrad provides treatment via chair massage, during which myofascial therapy is performed over the clothing in a forward seated position as seen here,

Chair Massage

or on a flexion-distraction therapy table for cases in which a more deep tissue approach is warranted. 

Aside from this he can also apply a range of modalities to supplement this hands-on therapy which include:

Heat or Ice Application

Muscle Stimulation

Hot Stone Massage

Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Manipulation

Kinesio Tape Application

Here a short summary of Dr. Konrad’s formal training in myofascial techniques:

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[1] Rapaport MH, Schettler P, Bresee C. A preliminary study of the effects of a single session of Swedish massage on hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal and immune function in normal individuals. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20809811) The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. 2010; 16(10):1–10.

[2] Field, Tiffany, PhD, Andrea Furlan, MD, Karen Sherman, PhD, Partap Khalsa, DC, and John Killen, MD. "Massage Therapy for Health Purposes." National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 06 Sept. 2016. Web. 21 Sept. 2016.

[3] Fritz, Sandy. "Chapter 2." Mosby's Fundamentals of Therapeutic Massage. 4th ed. St. Louis, MO: Mosby/Elsevier, 2009. 30-33. Print.

[4] Keifer, David, MD. "Massage Therapy Styles and Health Benefits." WebMD. WebMD, 01 Aug. 2016. Web. 21 Sept. 2016.

[5] Konopelky, Karin. "Structural Integration." Massage Therapy 101. Tsavo Media Canada Inc., n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2016.

[6] Yuan SL, Matsutani LA, Marques, AP. Effectiveness of different styles of massage therapy in fibromyalgia: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Man Ther. 2015;(2):257-264

[7] Finando, Donna. "What Is the Difference Between an Acupoint and a Trigger Point? Part 1." MASSAGE Magazine. Massage Magazine, 08 Dec. 2008. Web. 01 Mar. 2017.

[8] Usual care for low-back pain may include medication, other forms of physical therapy, back exercises, and education.

[9] Cherkin DC, Sherman KJ, Kahn J, et al. A comparison of the effects of 2 types of massage and usual care on chronic low-back pain: a randomized, controlled trial. (http://www.annals.org/content/155/1/1.abstract?aimhp) Annals of Internal Medicine. 2011;

155(1):1–9.

[10] Sherman KJ, Cherkin DC, Hawkes RJ, et al. Randomized trial of therapeutic massage for chronic neck pain. Clinical Journal of Pain. 2009; 25(3):233–238.

[11] Sherman KJ, Cook AJ, Wellman RD, et al. Five-week outcomes from a dosing trial of therapeutic massage for chronic neck pain. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24615306) Annals of Family Medicine. 2014;12(2):112–120.

[12] Perlman AI, Ali A, Njike VY, et al. Massage therapy for osteoarthritis of the knee: a randomized dose finding trial. PLoS One. 2012; 7(2):e30248.

[13] Doraisamy, Magesh Anand, Charles Prem Kumar & Anshul, and Chandran Gnanamuthu. "Chronic Tension Type Headache and the Impact of Myofascial Trigger Point Release in the Short Term Relief of Headache." GJHS Global Journal of Health Science 2.2 (2010): 239-44. Web.

[14] Fernández-De-Las-Peñas, César, and Carol A. Courtney. "Clinical Reasoning for Manual Therapy Management of Tension Type and Cervicogenic Headache." Journal of Manual & Manipulative Therapy 22.1 (2013): 45-51. Web.

[15] Quinn, Christopher, Clint Chandler, and Albert Moraska. "Massage Therapy and Frequency of Chronic Tension Headaches." American Journal of Public Health 92.10 (2002): 1657-661. Print.

[16] Ferna´ndez-de-las-Pen˜ as, Cesar, Maria L. Cuadrado, and Juan A. Pareja. "Myofascial Trigger Points, Neck Mobility, and Forward Head Posture in Episodic Tension-Type Headache." Headache 47 (2007): 662-72. Print.

[17] Miernik, Marta, Mieszko Więckiewicz, Anna Paradowska, and Włodzimierz Więckiewicz. "Massage Therapy in Myofascial TMD Pain Management." Advances in Clinical and Experimental Medicine 21.5 (2012): 681-85. Print.

[18] Bron, Carel, Arthur De Gast, Jan Dommerholt, Boudewijn Stegenga, Michel Wensing, and Rob Oostendorp. "Treatment of Myofascial Trigger Points in Patients with Chronic Shoulder Pain: A Randomized, Controlled Trial." BMC Medicine. BioMed Central Ltd., 24 Jan. 2011. Web. 30 Jan. 2017.

[19] Goats GC: Massage – the scientific basis of an ancient art: part 2. Physiological and therapeutic effects. Br J Sp Med 1994, 28(3), 153–156.

[20] Smith AR Jr.: Manual Therapy: The Historical, Current, and Future Role in the Treatment of Pain. Sci World J 2007, 7, 109–120.