Effect of Hand and Foot Massage Therapy on Psychological Factors and EEG Activity in Elderly People Requiring Long-Term Care: A Randomized Cross-Over Study

Hideki Nakano,Tomiko Tani,Ikuko Mori,Shin Murata,Tomohiro Ueda,Takayuki Kodama

doi:10.3390/brainsci9030054

Abstract

Massage therapy is widely used as a complementary therapy in the elderly. Here, we investigate the effect of hand and foot massage therapy on psychological factors and electroencephalographic (EEG) activity in elderly people requiring long-term care. We included 12 elderly people requiring long-term care, who were randomly divided into two groups (A and B). Group A received hand massage and group B received foot massage, both for 15 min each. After 1 week, group A received foot massage and group B received hand massage, both for 15 min each. We assessed emotions and mood states with a Likert scale after each massage and resting-state EEG activity was measured before and after each massage. Our results showed that both hand and foot massage led to a high degree of pleasant, relaxed, and refreshed feelings. Moreover, resting-state alpha activity significantly increased in the left insular cortex after hand massage (p < 0.05), and in the right and left posterior cingulate cortex after foot massage (p < 0.05). This study suggests that hand and foot massage therapy modulate psychological factors and EEG activity in elderly people requiring long-term care.

Highlights

Massage therapy is a widely-used complementary and alternative therapy for elderly people [1,2,3].The American Massage Therapy Association defines massage as “manual soft tissue manipulation, including holding, causing movement, and/or applying pressure to the body” [4]
Resting-state alpha activity significantly increased in the left insular cortex after hand massage compared with before massage
Resting-state alpha activity significantly increased in the right and left posterior cingulate cortex after foot massage compared with before massage (p < 0.05) (Figure 1, Table 3)

Summary

Introduction

Massage therapy is a widely-used complementary and alternative therapy for elderly people [1,2,3].The American Massage Therapy Association defines massage as “manual soft tissue manipulation, including holding, causing movement, and/or applying pressure to the body” [4]. Massage therapy is a widely-used complementary and alternative therapy for elderly people [1,2,3]. It is reported that massage therapy effectively improves the health and well-being of elderly people, which may be important as the elderly population increases in various countries worldwide [5]. In a study examining the effect of massage therapy on the elderly, Sharpe et al [6] demonstrated that massage therapy enhances well-being and reduces stress perception among elderly people. Munk et al [7] reported a relationship between massage therapy and health outcomes in the elderly. Sefton et al [8,9] have reported that massage therapy improves postural balance and blood pressure in elderly people

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Discussion

Conclusion