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Massage: Better than morphine?
Posted on Mar 20th 2008 8:00AM by Jacki DonaldsonI've been seeing a physical therapist for a few weeks now and have one more session to go before I'm released from the care of the woman who is massaging the tight muscles and scar tissue left behind from a lumpectomy and six weeks worth of radiation treatment. No need for drugs to numb any pain I feel in my left armpit and subscapularis muscle. Massage alone is working wonders.
Daniel Hinshaw, MD, of the VA Ann Arbor Heathcare System, says massage can be as powerful as morphine for those in pain. And one study of 605 people who got a 20-minute massage in addition to medication after surgery reported less pain one day earlier than those who just got drugs. Massage isn't just a guilty pleasure then. It's sometimes medically necessary. Here's what else it can do, says Reader's Digest.
Daniel Hinshaw, MD, of the VA Ann Arbor Heathcare System, says massage can be as powerful as morphine for those in pain. And one study of 605 people who got a 20-minute massage in addition to medication after surgery reported less pain one day earlier than those who just got drugs. Massage isn't just a guilty pleasure then. It's sometimes medically necessary. Here's what else it can do, says Reader's Digest.
- It cuts in half depression, anxiety, pain, nausea, and fatigue in cancer patients, according to one study.
- It calms kids. In one small study of children with ADHD, those who got a 20-minute massage twice a week for a month behaved better in school.
- It soothes chronic headaches. Headache sufferers report fewer episodes after neck and shoulder massages.
