Office workers massaged regularly were more alert, performed better and were less stressed than those who weren't massaged. Massage therapy decreased the effects of anxiety, tension, depression, pain, and itching in burn patients. Abdominal surgery patients recovered more quickly after massage. Premature infants who were massaged gained more weight and fared better than those who weren't. Autistic children showed less erratic behavior after massage therapy.
Massage therapy is beneficial for almost all diseases.
Eighty percent of disease is stress-related, and massage reduces stress. Va. AMTA, the international 45,000-member professional association for massage therapists, supports research through the AMTA Foundation. AMTA and the AMTA Foundation helped fund research at the Center for Alternative Medicine Research at Boston's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center on the use of therapeutic massage for lower back pain. Massage is to the human body what a tune up is to a car. Many Blue Cross and Blue Shield medical plans now offer such discount programs for massage.