Integrative Evaluation of Automated Massage Combined with Thermotherapy: Physical, Physiological, and Psychological Viewpoints

Abstract

Various types of massages are reported to relieve stress, pain, and anxiety which are beneficial for rehabilitation; however, more comprehensive studies are needed to understand the mechanism of massage therapy. In this study, we investigated the effect of massage therapy, alone or in combination with infrared heating, on 3 different aspects: physical, physiological, and psychological. Twenty-eight healthy university students were subjected to 3 different treatment conditions on separate days, one condition per day: control, massage only, or massage with infrared heating. Physical (trunk extension [TE]; maximum power of erector spinae), physiological (heart-rate variability [HRV]; electroencephalogram [EEG]), and psychological (state-trait anxiety inventory [STAI]; visual analogue scale [VAS]) measurements were evaluated and recorded before and after each treatment condition. The results showed that massage therapy, especially when combined with infrared heating, significantly improved physical functioning, increased parasympathetic response, and decreased psychological stress and anxiety. In the current study, we observed that massage therapy contributes to various physical, physiological, and psychological changes, where the effect increases with thermotherapy.

The Effectiveness Assessment of Massage Therapy Using Entropy-Based EEG Features Among Lumbar Disc Herniation Patients Comparing With Healthy Controls

“…MT is a widely-used complementary and alternative therapy in treating LBP. MT is a systematic manipulation of soft tissues with rhythmical pressure and stroking which contributes to relieving various types of body distress [4]- [6]. MT has been reported to have beneficial effects on varying conditions including prenatal depression, preterm infants [7], autism, skin conditions, pain syndromes including arthiritis and fibromyalgia, hypertension [8], autoimmune conditions including asthma and multiple sclerosis, immune conditions including HIV and breast cancer and aging problems including Parkinson's and dementia [9].…”

“…Recently, there have been some studies assessing physical and physiological effects of massage, such as blood pressure [8], [13], [17], heart rate [18], heart rate variability (HRV) in preterm infants [7], respiration rate [15], range of motion increased [19], electrocardiogram (ECG) and electromyography (EMG) [6]. These reports were limited to some types of patients such as adults with hypertension, healthy males, or preterm infants.…”

“…For instance, Rattanawan et al [10] found that delta and theta bands gradually declined while alpha, beta, and gamma bands increased after shoulder massage. This inconsistency might exist because of differences in massage technique, treatment time, or operator skill level which are not standardized between studies [6]. Further research is needed to identify underlying neurophysiological and biochemical mechanisms associate with moderate pressure massage [29].…”

Effect on autonomic nervous activity of applying hot towels for 10 s to the back during bed baths

“…There was no prior literature that measured heart rate variability (HRV) during bed baths. Therefore, the sample size was calculated using the effect size of previous studies that measured HRV in other nursing care [28,30] and similar interventions [18]. As a result, the one with the largest number of samples was used.…”

“…Generally, a high-frequency (HF) component is a marker for pure cardiac PNS activity, while the low-frequency/highfrequency (LF/HF) ratio reflects SNS activity [27]. In this regard, massages lower LF/HF ratio [28,29] and increase HF [30]. Furthermore, footbaths also reduce LF/HF [24].…”