In a study from Emory University, scientists found that Swedish massage therapy provides a strong improvement in symptoms of people with a generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).
The finding suggests that a time-limited course of massage may be an effective and reasonable treatment alternative for anxiety and depression symptoms.
In the study, the team compared twice-weekly Swedish massage therapy (SMT) versus light touch over a six-week period for participants with GAD.
Therapy sessions lasted 45 minutes under the same room conditions. Patient assessments, self-reported and clinician-rated, were done before the initial session and again after each subsequent session.
This was the first monotherapy study ever done on massage for an anxiety disorder.
Researchers found as early as session five that individuals who received SMT showed greater improvement in anxiety symptoms than those who received light touch.
There was also a decrease in depression symptoms among those who received massage.
These findings are significant and if replicated in a larger study will have important ramifications for patients and providers.
The use of massage therapy to treat patients with physical ailments is well documented more work is needed to examine the biology of massage to better understand its possible role in treating a variety of anxiety and mood disorders.
If you care about mental health, please read studies about a major cause of depression in older people, and vitamin C could help fight anxiety.
For more information about mental health, please see recent studies about new nasal spray that can treat anxiety disorders, and results showing one dose of this drug may lower anxiety and depression for 5 years.
The was conducted by Mark Hyman Rapaport et al and published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.
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