Abstract
Some cancer patients use therapeutic massage to reduce symptoms, improve coping, and enhance quality of life. Although a meta-analysis concludes that massage can confer short-term benefits in terms of psychological wellbeing and reduction of some symptoms, additional validated randomized controlled studies are necessary to determine specific indications for various types of therapeutic massage. In addition, mechanistic studies need to be conducted to discriminate the relative contributions of the therapist and of the reciprocal relationship between body and mind in the subject. Nuclear magnetic resonance techniques can be used to capture dynamic in vivo responses to biomechanical signals induced by massage of myofascial tissue. The relationship of myofascial communication systems (called "meridians") to activity in the subcortical central nervous system can be evaluated. Understanding this relationship has important implications for symptom control in cancer patients, because it opens up new research avenues that link self-reported pain with the subjective quality of suffering. The reciprocal body-mind relationship is an important target for manipulation therapies that can reduce suffering.
Highlights
Therapeutic massage is increasingly used in medical treatment programs to reduce symptoms, improve coping, and enhance quality of life [1,2]
The results indicated that the size of the effect for massage in cancer patients is clinically important, and the authors have since begun a randomized controlled trial
The Eastern techniques are usually based on theoretical systems that involve energy movement through channels called “meridians” or energy centres called “chakras.” The classification and uniform practice of massage therapy techniques are not completely established
Summary
Therapeutic massage is increasingly used in medical treatment programs to reduce symptoms, improve coping, and enhance quality of life [1,2]. The results indicated that the size of the effect for massage in cancer patients is clinically important, and the authors have since begun a randomized controlled trial. Its main weakness was that it lacked a randomized control group, and uncertainty remains regarding whether the intervention (massage) was the only factor that led to the improvement in the patients’ symptom scores. The authors concluded that aromatherapy massage is an effective therapeutic option for the short-term management of mild-tomoderate anxiety and depression in patients with cancer. They suggested that the benefits of aromatherapy massage need to be compared with those of psychological interventions for this patient group. Prolonged intervention with massage therapy may possibly induce more permanent neurophysiologic adaptations because of neural plasticity
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