Massage therapy is used to assist people to manage their health or improving their overall well-being. It entails manipulating the body’s delicate tissues. Massage has been performed in most societies throughout human history, both Eastern and Western, and was one of the first methods used to try to cure pain.
What are the many kinds of massage?
The word “massage therapy” encompasses a wide range of treatments. Swedish or classical massage is the most widespread type of massage treatment in Western nations, and it is the foundation of most massage school programmes. Sports massage, clinical massage for particular aims such as relieving muscular spasms, and massage traditions originated from Eastern cultures, such as Shiatsu and Tuina, are other forms.
Is it true that massages may aid with pain?
Massage treatment has been examined for low-back pain, neck and shoulder discomfort, pain from knee osteoarthritis, and headaches, among other conditions. Here’s what science has to say:
- Low-Back Ache
- Shoulder and Neck Pain
- Knee osteoarthritis is a kind of arthritis that affects the knee joint.
- Headaches
Is massage beneficial to cancer patients?
Massage therapy can be an element of supportive treatment for cancer patients who want to attempt it if they take the necessary precautions; nevertheless, the evidence that it can ease pain and anxiety is not substantial.
Massage treatment, with or without aromatherapy (essential oils), has been used to help patients with cancer manage their pain, anxiety, and other symptoms. A 2016 review of 19 research involving more than 1,200 cancer patients revealed evidence that massage might assist with pain and stress. Still, the data quality was poor (most trials were small, and some may have been biassed), and the results were inconsistent.
According to clinical practice guidelines, massage is one of the numerous techniques that may be useful for stress reduction, anxiety, depression, exhaustion, and quality of life in breast cancer patients (advice for health care practitioners). According to clinical practice guidelines, massage treatment might be offered as part of supportive care for lung cancer patients whose anxiety or the standard care does not sufficiently manage discomfort.
When dealing with cancer patients, massage therapists may need to adjust their typical techniques; for example, they may need to use less pressure than usual in sensitive regions due to cancer or cancer therapies.