Massage Pointed to As a Possible Depression Aid
Mar 31st, 2010 | By admin | Category: Depression, Featured, MassageNo surprise here, particularly for anyone who has ever been on the receiving end of a good massage: researchers now believe that it can help in the treatment of depression.
While massage can ease stress and tension and may have emotional benefits, the use of massage therapy in depressed patients is “controversial,” the investigators note, and “there is no qualitative review of the treatment effect of massage therapy in depressed patients.”
To investigate further, they searched for randomized controlled trials of massage therapy in depressed patients. They identified 17 studies including 786 people in all. In 13 of the trials, massage therapy was compared to another active treatment such as Chinese herbs, relaxation exercises, or rest, while four compared massage to a “no treatment” control group. Investigators also used a range of methods for evaluating mood and depression in study participants.
Overall, the studies, which were of “moderate” quality, showed that massage therapy had “potentially significant effects” in alleviating symptoms of depression, the researchers report in the American Journal of Psychiatry.
Researchers attribute this to several possible factors, including stress release brought about by massage, an “alliance” that forms between the patient and therapist, or possibly the release of the “trust hormone” oxytocin.
Source: Yahoo! News
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