Where can I get the most current stats on massage for corporate accounts

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Permalink Reply by I. Paul Dunsdon on December 23, 2009 at 10:29am

can any one help? I posted this a day ago and got no response...

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Permalink Reply by Robin Byler Thomas on December 23, 2009 at 11:22am

Hi Paul,

Sorry for the delay; my pubmed connection at the U was down yesterday. Attached are 2 studies in different work place settings of chair massage. Read the results and the conclusions carefully. If you have any questions let me know.

Robin

Attachments:

• Effects of Employer-Provided Massage Therapy on Job Satisfaction, Stress,Pain.pdf, 373 KB
• Massage therapy as a workplace intervention for re___ [Percept Mot Skills_ 1997] - PubMed result.mht, 506 KB

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Permalink Reply by Robin Byler Thomas on December 23, 2009 at 11:26am

Here is one more. I will add two more soon.

Attachments:

• ScienceDirect - Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice Chair massage for patients and carers A pilot service in an outpatient setting of a cancer care hospital.mht, 664 KB

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Permalink Reply by Robin Byler Thomas on December 23, 2009 at 11:36am

I'm just going to post these two abstracts:



1. Int J Neurosci. 1996 Sep;86(3-4):197-205.
Massage therapy reduces anxiety and enhances EEG pattern of alertness and math computations.
Field T, Ironson G, Scafidi F, Nawrocki T, Goncalves A, Burman I, Pickens J, Fox N, Schanberg S, Kuhn C.
Touch Research Institute, University of Miami School of Medicine, Florida 33101, USA.

Twenty-six adults were given a chair massage and 24 control group adults were asked to relax in the massage chair for 15 minutes, two times per week for five weeks. On the first and last days of the study they were monitored for EEG, before, during and after the sessions. In addition, before and after the sessions they performed math computations, they completed POMS Depression and State Anxiety Scales and they provided a saliva sample for cortisol. At the beginning of the sessions they completed Life Events, Job Stress and Chronic POMS Depression Scales. Group by repeated measures and post hoc analyses revealed the following: 1) frontal delta power increased for both groups, suggesting relaxation; 2) the massage group showed decreased frontal alpha and beta power (suggesting enhanced alertness); while the control group showed increased alpha and beta power; 3) the massage group showed increased speed and accuracy on math computations while the control group did not change; 4) anxiety levels were lower following the massage but not the control sessions, although mood state was less depressed following both the massage and control sessions; 5) salivary cortisol levels were lower following the massage but not the control sessions but only on the first day; and 6) at the end of the 5 week period depression scores were lower for both groups but job stress score were lower only for the massage group.

PMID: 8884390 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]


1. Aust J Adv Nurs. 2006 Jun-Aug;23(4):28-33.
The effectiveness of a 15 minute weekly massage in reducing physical and psychological stress in nurses.
Bost N, Wallis M.
Griffith University Research Centre for Clinical Practice Innovation, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effectiveness of massage therapy in reducing physiological and psychological indicators of stress in nurses employed in an acute care hospital. DESIGN: Randomised controlled trial. SETTING: Acute care hospital in Queensland. SUBJECTS: Sixty nurses were recruited to the five week study and randomly assigned to two groups. INTERVENTION: A 15 minute back massage once a week. The control group did not receive any therapy. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Demographic information, a life events questionnaire and a brief medical history of all participants was completed at enrolment. Physiological stress was measured at weeks one, three and five by urinary cortisol and blood pressure readings. Psychological stress levels were measured at weeks one and five with the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). RESULTS: Differences in the change in urinary cortisol and blood pressure between the two groups did not reach statistical significance. However, STAI scores decreased over the five weeks for those participants who received a weekly massage. The STAI scores of the control group increased over the five week period. These differences between the groups were statistically significant. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that massage therapy is a beneficial tool for the health of nurses as it may reduce psychological stress levels. It is recommended that further large studies be conducted to measure the symptoms of stress rather than the physiological signs of stress in nurses.
PMID: 16800217 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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