Massage Research: Mental Health

Hello friends,

I want to communicate about how effective massage is for supporting positive mental health outcomes.

More than just saying "it's good", I want to give you connections to research that supports massage scientifically. 

Massage therapy is an evidence-based, non-invasive approach to supporting mental health.

It delivers both immediate, short term relaxation, as well as cumulative improvements in stress, anxiety and depression throughout continued therapeutic massage care.

There are measurable physiological changes in serotonin, dopamine, and cortisol that favour positive mental health outcomes.

Below I've inserted a little snapshot, maybe you'll be interested to delve deeper. 

At a time when non-pharmacological interventions are preferred, such as during pregnancy, massage has been shown to improve outcomes for anxiety and depression. 

The effectiveness of massage for reducing pregnant women's anxiety and depression; systematic review and meta-analysis

Cortisol decreases and serotonin and dopamine increase following massage therapy

This review states that

"In studies in which cortisol was assayed either in saliva or in urine, significant decreases were noted in cortisol levels (averaging decreases 31%).

In studies in which the activating neurotransmitters (serotonin and dopamine) were assayed in urine, an average increase of 28% was noted for serotonin and an average increase of 31% was noted for dopamine."

This study discusses the lowered heart rate, and cortisol levels in psychiatric in-patients.

Improvements in hostility and depression were also recorded.

I hope that these few studies are enough to prompt you to think differently about massage or begin your own investigations.