Adults (M age=39.6 years) with low back pain with a duration of at least 6 months received two 30-min massage or relaxation therapy sessions per week for 5 weeks. Participants receiving massage therapy reported experiencing less pain, depression, anxiety and their sleep had improved. They also showed improved trunk and pain flexion performance, and their serotonin and dopamine levels were higher.

Studied children with mild to moderate juvenile rheumatoid arthritis who were massaged by their parents 15 minutes a day for 30 days (and a control group engaged in relaxation therapy). The children's anxiety and stress hormone (cortisol) levels were immediately decreased by the massage, and over the 30-day period their pain decreased on self-reports, parent reports, and their physician's assessment of pain (both the incidence and severity) and pain-limiting activities.

No abstract

These findings suggest that parents may reduce anxiety levels by massaging their children with cystic fibrosis and their children may benefit from receiving massage by having less anxiety and improved mood, which in turn may facilitate breathing.