Massage Brings Relief from Arthritis Pain
American Massage Therapy Association

"Arthritis pain in hands can be helped by massage therapy, according to a study published in the January 2007 issue of the Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies.

The research, conducted by the Touch Research Institute (TRI) of the University of Miami School of Medicine, examined 22 adults aged 20 to 65 years with wrist and/or hand arthritis. Participants were randomly assigned to either a massage therapy or a standard treatment control group. The massage therapy group received massage from a therapist on the affected area once a week for a four-week period, and also conducted self-massage at home daily. The control group received no massage, but was taught self-massage at the end of the study.

Researchers found that the massage therapy group had lower anxiety scores and depressed mood scores after the first and last sessions, and by the end of the study reported less pain and greater grip strength. The massage therapy group showed greater improvement than the standard treatment control group on all measures.

"While massage therapy has decreased pain in several pain syndromes, this is the first report of pain reduction in hand arthritis following massage therapy," says Tiffany Field, PhD, director of the TRI. "The results of this study are very encouraging for the application of massage therapy as a complementary alternative treatment for hand arthritis."

Arthritis is a systemic inflammatory disease that causes persistent joint pain and can affect people of all ages and activity levels. While this pain can appear in any joint in the body, it often affects the small joints of the hands.

Hand strength in patients with arthritis is generally 75 percent lower than in healthy patients. Because many daily activities, such as opening doors or food containers and lifting and carrying items, require considerable hand strength, the pain caused by arthritis can lead to significant limitations on activity. But as this research indicates, massage is one of many ways that arthritis sufferers can reduce their pain and improve their quality of life.

This study was co-sponsored by Biotone, provider of professional massage and body treatment products and complementary supplies.