Many claims exist about massage therapy and its effectiveness. The massage reduces pain and leaves people in a better state than when they came in. Two Utah State students reported that they felt an improvement in their recovery and could better control their actions. The New England Journal of Medicine ranked massage therapy as third in the top forms of alternative medicine. This somewhat biased information boasts for the alternative medicine field.
Massage Therapists claim high qualifications are required.
In addition, scientific data supports the claims made by massage therapists and their patients. First, studies have shown that massage therapy produced a lower blood pressure and heart rate as well as an increase in skin temperature in elderly subjects. The massage also relaxed the subjects. Second, a study conducted of subjects with spinal pain produced less pain and more flexibility and tone in the muscles. Third, another study demonstrated that the brain will send out chemical pain killers, called endorphins, from massage.