Many of us are feeling
the anxiety coming on with this week—the first of many weeks to come with tests
and presentations and papers due in everything.
With the anxiety rampant around campus, I thought it might be a good time to
start exploring stress management techniques. A technique I have come across
that I think is worth investing in is massage therapy.
Research shows that message
therapy decreases anxiety and elevates mood in a variety of people and situations.
Biochemically, these decreased anxiety and elevated mood levels correspond to
decreased cortisol levels and increased serotonin and dopamine levels,
respectively. Corresponding to these decreased cortisol and elevated serotonin
and dopamine levels, massage therapy effectively mediates depression- and
anxiety-related symptoms in: depression during pregnancy, post-partum
depression, infants of depressed mothers, PTSD in children, women with a
history of sex abuse, and people with anorexia, bulimia, chronic fatigue, and migraines
(Field, Hernandez-Reif, Diego, Schanberg, & Kuhn, 2005). Further, massage
therapy in children with asthma not only decreased anxiety and pain levels, but
it also improved peak air flow and other pulmonary functions associated with
increases in dopamine and decreases in cortisol (Field et al., 2005). Massage
therapy has thus been shown to profoundly, positively influence the human body.
While most of us don’t
have depression during pregnancy, post-partum depression, PTSD, or many of the
other “situations” listed above at this point in time, we can still benefit
from the decreased cortisol levels and elevated serotonin and dopamine levels
that led to the beneficial effects in these groups of people. Further, the same
meta-analysis showed significantly decreased stress and cortisol levels in “job
stress,” indicating that massage therapy can alleviate stress in the general
population in addition to the special populations listed above.
How do repeated
massages can have such profound effects on mood and body? Beyond the effects on
cortisol levels, further studies of massage therapy found that the amount of
pressure used during the massage is important in eliciting positive effects of
massage therapy. Researchers found that this moderate pressure massage
increases vagal activity and corresponding parasympathetic nervous system
activity. However, light pressure massage decreased
vagal activity and increased sympathetic
nervous system activity. The researchers then suggest that the psychological
and neuroendocrinological effects of massage therapy could be mediated by the
differing amounts of pressure to vagal afferent fibers that project to brain
structures involved in autonomic nervous system regulation (Diego & Field,
2009). Thus, their research shows that massage therapy works by stimulating vagal
and parasympathetic nervous system activity.
Thus, overall, research
on massage therapy shows that it helps relieve anxiety by influencing
parasympathetic nervous system activity in addition to cortisol, serotonin, and
dopamine levels—things we can all benefit from any time of the year, but
especially when life becomes particularly stressful.
References:
Diego, M. A., &
Field, T. (2009). Moderate pressure massage elicits a parasympathetic nervous
system response. International Journal of
Neuroscience, 119, 630-638. doi: 10.1080/0020750802329605
Field, T., Hernandez-Reif,
M., Diego, M., Schanberg, S., & Kuhn, C. (2005). Cortisol decreases and
serotonin and dopamine increase following massage therapy. International Journal of Neuroscience, 115, 1397-1413. doi:
10.1080/00207450590956459
Massages are not the only way to control stress and improve academic performance. There have been many correlations made between various levels of exercise and performance in the classroom. At minimum there is no negative effect on academic performance, but at higher exertion levels, exercise has been shown to increase performance compared to those who have not exercised (Coe 2006).
ReplyDeleteRef: Coe DP, Pivarnik JM, Womack CJ, Reeves MJ, Malina RM. 2006. Effect of physical education and activity levels on academic achievement in children. Medicine and science in sports and exercise [Internet] 38:1515–9. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16888468
Very true. Exercise is one of the many ways to control stress, as are massages. There's also a lot of research on AAT and AAA (which I will also blog on later), in addition to diet, meditation, etc.
ReplyDeleteShannon, do you think that it is massage specifically or other methods of physical touch will have the same results? Will I get the same stress relief from a massage, a pedicure, comfort from a pet, hugs or even sex? Which method and how much touch do I need to a elicit stress relief response? I have not found any studies that compare the type of touch and stress relief, however Therapeutic Touch specifically has been a target for many studies.
ReplyDeleteref: Newshan G, Schuller-Civitella D. 2003. Large Clinical Study Shows Value of Therapeutic Touch Program. Holistic Nursing Practice. [Internet] 17(4)189-192. available from: http://journals.lww.com/hnpjournal/Abstract/2003/07000/Large_Clinical_Study_Shows_Value_of_Therapeutic.5.aspx
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe study I read talked about doing studies to investigate how much touch is needed in the massage to elicit the same response, and based on their study they believe that multiple, shorter sessions are best but they don't know how much. Another question that relates to yours would be how much of the body needs to be touched in order to elicit the same response, which is interesting. As far as pets go, I actually qualify for a psychiatric help dog, and one of the tasks these dogs are trained to perform is to apply deep pressure in order to elicit the same stress-relief response. Based on that information, I would think it's less the massage and more the touch that stimulates the PNS, and the massage is one great route to get that physical stimulation of the PNS--especially since everyone gets stressed (about things other than lions running towards us) but not everyone has a stress disorder or qualifies for a psychiatric help dog.
ReplyDeleteShannon, thank you for this post. I had worked as a massage therapist for a number of years and can tell you how much the body can change in an hour. That being said, I can relate to the differences in "light" touch verses "moderate" pressure and that they will vary person to person. what one person may say is light may be hard to another - this I might add is the art and skill of a trained therapist. I can tell you after studying many techniques that it all doesn't mean a thing unless the person is enjoying it at some level - and that there is no technique that is a one size fits all. The difficulty in a sound scientific study in proving that massage is effective is that the art of massage does not only include the "touch" component - but the listening and following the signs of the body which are likely unspoken. However, we can say that being "touched" is a positive thing as measured by the release of neurotransmitters and an improved regulation of the nervous system. An interesting study (Rapaprt MH et al. 2010) actually took blood samples before, during, and after a massage (which i would think is very stressful for the patient), and found an overall improved immune response and reduction in cortisol. I think in the end, when you do things which feel good, your body thanks you.
ReplyDeleteRapaport MH, Schettler P, Bresee C. 2010. A Preliminary Study of the Effects of a Single Session of Swedish Massage on Hypothalamic–Pituitary–Adrenal and Immune Function in Normal Individuals. J. Altern. Complement. Med. October 2010, 16(10): 1079-1088. doi:10.1089/acm.2009.0634
I seem to have made at least one good decision in my life; I made friends with people who give good massages. Most of the time when they give me a massage, they say I have a “bumpy back.” I wondered if the “knots” in people’s backs, otherwise known as trigger points, are stress related? To my surprise, there has been recent development regarding the idea of stress knots.
ReplyDeleteJohn Holman has written several articles about his massage experience and knowledge in numerous magazines. In 2010, Holman blogged about how there is no such thing as a knot in a muscle. In order to have a knot in a muscle “you are going to need a loose end with which to tie it” (Holman, 2010). Now, we have a better understanding and definition of a “stress knot.” In 2012, Kip Yates blogged about how a knot is scientifically known as a “myofascial trigger point” which is a “tight ball of muscle from an overworked muscle” (Yates, 2012). It is not a classic knot that Holman was referring to. These trigger points are caused when the fast twitch fibers (used for rapid movements) are overworked. They can be overworked by exhausting the muscle when working out, and by daily stressors. Even though we may not be aware of our muscular stress response, we tend to constrict our neck muscles and raise our shoulders, which overwork our muscles if we do not stop (Yates, 2012). This shows that stress can negatively impact our cellular functioning at every level. If not treated, knots can limit range of motion, cause pain and discomfort, and cause even more stress. Though I agree that massages have positive health benefits, are they really helping with our stress levels? If these myofascial trigger points are created from stress, then I think that our first step towards a knotless back should be to reduce our amount of unhealthy stress in our lives.
Holman, J. (2010, October 28). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://jhft.blogspot.com/2010/10/there-is-no-such-thing-as-knot-in.html
Yates, K. (2012, February 27). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://blog.legitmassage.com/2012/02/27/what-is-a-knot-and-why-do-i-have-them/