What Are the Benefits of Massage on Depression?

Massage can offer more than a luxury that you may indulge in sporadically or try while on vacation. According to the non-profit organization the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA), 31 percent of those surveyed say they get massage therapy for medical or other health concerns specifically. Scientific data compiled by the AMTA in its "Massage Therapy Industry Fact Sheet" shows the benefits of massage for back pain, migraines, carpal tunnel syndrome and a host of other ailments. Research, however, is also revealing promising results for massage in the treatment of depression.

How It Works

According to the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami, a review of more than a dozen massage studies released by the organization in 1997 concluded that massage therapy helps relieve depression and anxiety by reducing the levels of cortisol, known as the "flight or flight" mechanism in the body. In the studies reviewed, researchers measured the stress hormone cortisol in participants before and immediately after massage and found that the therapy significantly lowered levels. The researchers discovered increased levels of serotonin, dopamine and other critical mood-stabilizing neurotransmitters in the brain, following the massage.

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Massage and the Body

Exercise is beneficial for depression, but one study pointed to massage as even more beneficial. A group of depressed patients with spinal cord injury was given either two 40-minute massages per week for five weeks, or given motion exercises for the same amount of time. While both groups enjoyed improvement in physical ability, only the massage group showed significant lowering of depression levels, according to the study published by the "International Journal of Neuroscience" in 2018.

Massage and the Brain

A study published in the journal "Biological Psychology" in the Oct. 11, 2017, showed that depressed patients will show electroencephalographic (EEG) asymmetry and specifically greater brain activity in the right frontal area associated with negative emotions and depression. In an examination of depressed teens, all showing greater relative right frontal EEG activity as well as symptoms of depression, results showed EEG asymmetry was significantly improved both during and after each massage therapy session.

References:

http://pediatrics.med.miami.edu/touch-research
https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1G1-60302519/massage-and-music-therapies-attenuate-frontal-eeg
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/7541941_Can_EEG_asymmetry_predict_future_development_of_anxiety_and_depression_A_preliminary_study