Simple Relaxation As Good As Massage in Reducing Anxiety
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Massage is a popular complementary treatment used by many to relieve anxiety. But a randomized trial found that low-cost relaxation treatments, namely deep breathing and listening to soft music, are equally effective.
The trial conducted by Group Health Research Institute consisted of 68 patients diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder. The participants were randomly divided into three groups and each group was assigned one of the three 10 treatments: massage, deep breathing, or thermotherapy (also known as heat therapy). Those in the massage group received treatments that were designed to release muscle tension, reduce anxiety symptoms and improve the functions of the parasympathetic nervous system. On the other hand, the heat therapy group had patients’ arms and legs wrapped up in warm towels intermittently to induce relaxation.
All the three treatments were administered by licensed massage therapists in a dimly lighted environment piped with relaxing music. Every treatment lasted one hour per session. All participants were also given instructions to practice deep breathing on their own every day.
At the end of the 12-week treatment, participants were interviewed by researchers to gauge their anxiety levels. Three months later, another round of interview was carried out again.
The results showed that all three groups reported a 40 percent decrease in symptoms after treatment and a 50 percent reduction three months later. Further, patients also reported feeling less worried, depressed and handicapped by their condition. There was no difference found among the three groups.
Initially designed to find out how effective massage is in the treatment of anxiety disorder, the findings of this study were unexpected by the research team.
“We were surprised to find that the benefits of massage were no greater than those of the same number of sessions of ‘thermotherapy’ or listening to relaxing music,” said Karen J. Sherman, PhD, MPH, a senior investigator at Group Health Research Institute.
“This suggests that the benefits of massage may be due to a generalized relaxation response.”