An increasing number of studies are confirming the therapeutic and effective role of massage in treating pain, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
The American Pain Society and the American College of Physicians began including massage as a recommendation for treating low back pain in 2007, and a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine in 2006 found that Swedish massages caused significant improvements in osteoarthritis of the knee. Patients who had massages twice per week for four weeks and once per week for another four weeks experienced a reduction in pain and stiffness and an increased range of motion.
"If [massage] works then it should become part of the conventionally recommended interventions for this condition and if it doesn't work we should let [patients] know so they don't waste their time and money," says Adam Perlman, the study's lead author.
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The American Pain Society and the American College of Physicians began including massage as a recommendation for treating low back pain in 2007, and a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine in 2006 found that Swedish massages caused significant improvements in osteoarthritis of the knee. Patients who had massages twice per week for four weeks and once per week for another four weeks experienced a reduction in pain and stiffness and an increased range of motion.
"If [massage] works then it should become part of the conventionally recommended interventions for this condition and if it doesn't work we should let [patients] know so they don't waste their time and money," says Adam Perlman, the study's lead author.
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