Is massage therapy any good for anxiety? Massages have been around for years. It is one of those treatments that like acupuncture can be traced back through the ages. In fact it is probably even older than acupuncture – after all to place your hands on some part of your own or someone else’s body that is in pain or trauma is one of the most natural thing. Research on the therapeutic efficacy of massage is fairly thin on the ground. Of course practitioners swear by it and certainly so do some clients. There is no doubt that it can be helpful for muscular injuries, but is it any good for anxiety, stress or any other mental health problem?
The answer is that temporarily speaking it probably is of some use. Research has found that the touch of another human being is calming and so in times of stress and anxiety this is likely to be helpful. And of course feeling a hand on your back, especially when it belongs to someone who cares about you, is bound to make the horror of a panic attack feel less bleak.
But what about long term? Is there any curative effects of massage vis a vis anxiety disorders? I personally was certainly once promised a cure by an ayurvedic expert. Of course it didn’t work at all and no doubt the therapist went on to promise the next unsuspecting client the same miracle. In truth there is no scientific or psychological reason why massage should provide any long term solutions. I would be inclined to look at it as a topical, symptomatic treatment that might make you feel temporarily better. It doesn’t help with any faulty thinking or core issues and is unlikely to bring about any lasting biochemical changes in the brain that might reduce anxiety, such as Serotonin or Dopamine stabilisation. That said, as short term treatments go it is much better than self-medicating alcohol or drugs!
Don’t expect miracles from massage, and don’t believe therapists that promise too much unless they can back it up with peer reviewed research or allow you to speak to a client they have helped.
