Systematic Reviews of Massage Therapy

Massage Therapy: The Science is Emerging

Systematic reviews are used as part of an evidence-based model of care to help identify and evaluate existing research for a specific topic. Conducting a systematic review is a complex process. This specific type of research requires multiple research experts each with their own specialized background to collaborate and analyze all the existing research available for one specific topic.

First researchers will pick a topic - for example we could say, ‘the use of massage therapy for low back pain’. Then the researchers comb through research databases to find studies from around the world carried out on that specific topic. After the search is completed the articles are evaluated based on a predefined inclusion criteria. Then articles are separated by those that meet the pre-defined criteria and those that do not meet the predefined criteria.

The research articles that meet the pre-defined criteria are then individually screened for potential biases. There are several ways that biases sneak into research, for massage therapy one of the primary sources of bias is due to therapist and patient blinding (this is hard to control for). In addition to evaluating studies for potential biases, researchers are looking for potential harms, and treatment effect size. Essentially, does this treatment work, and how does it compare to a placebo/sham intervention.

Steady Improvement in Quality & Quantity of Massage Therapy Research

Twenty years ago, there was a limited number of systematic reviews of massage therapy, since 2005 there has been a steady increase in the quality and number of systematic reviews of massage therapy.

Graphical representation of the steady increase in number of systematic reviews.

Graphical representation of the steady increase in number of systematic reviews.

Massage therapy is a clinically-oriented healthcare option, that is increasingly being used alongside standard medical care to help manage a number of symptoms. Based on these systematic reviews massage therapy has a growing body of evidence supporting its effectiveness in reducing pain and improving health-related quality of life in a variety of health conditions and rehabilitation, including but not limited to:


References and Sources

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Boyd, C., Crawford, C., Paat, C. F., Price, A., Xenakis, L., Zhang, W., & Evidence for Massage Therapy (EMT) Working Group (2016). The Impact of Massage Therapy on Function in Pain Populations-A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials: Part III, Surgical Pain Populations. Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.), 17(9), 1757–1772. doi:10.1093/pm/pnw101

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Guo, J., Li, L., Gong, Y., Zhu, R., Xu, J., Zou, J., & Chen, X. (2017). Massage Alleviates Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness after Strenuous Exercise: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Frontiers in physiology, 8, 747. doi:10.3389/fphys.2017.00747

Hall, H. G., Cant, R., Munk, N., Carr, B., Tremayne, A., Weller, C., Fogarty, S., & Lauche, R. (2020). The effectiveness of massage for reducing pregnant women's anxiety and depression; systematic review and meta-analysis. Midwifery, 90, 102818. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.midw.2020.102818

Hawk, C., Minkalis, A. L., Khorsan, R., Daniels, C. J., Homack, D., Gliedt, J. A., … Bhalerao, S. (2017). Systematic Review of Nondrug, Nonsurgical Treatment of Shoulder Conditions. Journal of manipulative and physiological therapeutics, 40(5), 293–319. doi:10.1016/j.jmpt.2017.04.001

Hilfiker, R., Meichtry, A., Eicher, M., Nilsson Balfe, L., Knols, R. H., Verra, M. L., & Taeymans, J. (2018). Exercise and other non-pharmaceutical interventions for cancer-related fatigue in patients during or after cancer treatment: a systematic review incorporating an indirect-comparisons meta-analysis. British journal of sports medicine, 52(10), 651–658. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2016-096422

Huisstede, B. M., van den Brink, J., Randsdorp, M. S., Geelen, S. J., & Koes, B. W. (2018). Effectiveness of Surgical and Postsurgical Interventions for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome-A Systematic Review. Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation, 99(8), 1660–1680.e21. doi:10.1016/j.apmr.2017.04.024

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Martins, W. R., Blasczyk, J. C., Aparecida Furlan de Oliveira, M., Lagôa Gonçalves, K. F., Bonini-Rocha, A. C., Dugailly, P. M., & de Oliveira, R. J. (2016). Efficacy of musculoskeletal manual approach in the treatment of temporomandibular joint disorder: A systematic review with meta-analysis. Manual therapy, 21, 10–17. doi:10.1016/j.math.2015.06.009

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Smith, C. A., Levett, K. M., Collins, C. T., Dahlen, H. G., Ee, C. C., & Suganuma, M. (2018). Massage, reflexology and other manual methods for pain management in labour. The Cochrane database of systematic reviews, 3(3), CD009290. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD009290.pub3

Smith, C. A., Shewamene, Z., Galbally, M., Schmied, V., & Dahlen, H. (2019). The effect of complementary medicines and therapies on maternal anxiety and depression in pregnancy: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of affective disorders, 245, 428–439. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2018.11.054

Steuri, R., Sattelmayer, M., Elsig, S., Kolly, C., Tal, A., Taeymans, J., & Hilfiker, R. (2017). Effectiveness of conservative interventions including exercise, manual therapy and medical management in adults with shoulder impingement: a systematic review and meta-analysis of RCTs. British journal of sports medicine, 51(18), 1340–1347. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2016-096515

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Zeng, Y. S., Wang, C., Ward, K. E., & Hume, A. L. (2018). Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Hospice and Palliative Care: A Systematic Review. Journal of pain and symptom management, 56(5), 781–794.e4. doi:10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2018.07.016