http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/living/health/10404546.htm?1c

BY HILARY E. MACGREGOR

Los Angeles Times Service


You lie on the crisp white sheet of the massage table in
semidarkness. The scent of almond oil fills the air. Then come the
hands, gently kneading the necklace of knots that rings your back,
your neck, your shoulders. You close your eyes, breathe deeply and
let yourself relax. Beyond the pleasures of the moment, though, are
there medical benefits to massage?

Hospitals and medical clinics around the United States are beginning
to integrate massage into patient care. It's the most common
nontraditional therapy offered in U.S. hospitals, according to an
American Hospital Association survey in 2003.

Cancer patients at Martha Jefferson Hospital in Charlottesville,
Va., are offered therapeutic massage by one of eight therapists,
Longmont United Hospital in Colorado has a massage therapist on
staff 24/7 and New York's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center has
11 massage therapists.

The National Institutes of Health is funding several studies to
examine the medical benefits of massage. Previous studies have found
that massage can help reduce chronic pain, diminish anxiety and
depression, and enhance immune function.

A new survey by the American Massage Therapy Association, a
professional organization, shows that nearly half of Americans have
used massage therapy as a way to manage and relieve pain.

Still, many doctors remain skeptical of the research suggesting a
medical benefit to massage, saying more rigorous studies are needed.

But doctors, nurses and patients who have seen massage in action say
that even if the benefits can't be demonstrated by large clinical
studies, the anecdotal evidence is powerful.

''Clearly there are medical benefits to massage,'' said Dr. Gregory
P. Fontana, a cardiothoracic surgeon at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
in Los Angeles who conducted a pilot study to measure the
effectiveness of nontraditional therapies, such as massage, in
helping speed recover after heart surgery.

Ninety-five percent of the 50 massage patients reported that massage
was a ''very important'' part of their recovery, Fontana said. Dr.
Ka-Kit Hui, director of UCLA's Center for East-West Medicine in
Santa Monica, Calif., goes further: ``A lot of people think massage
is good for aches and pains. But what we have found is that massage
activates the body's own healing system.''

Patients at UCLA'S East-West Center see a team made up of a Western-
trained doctor, an acupuncturist and a massage therapist. Often
referred by their physicians, many of the patients come to the
center because traditional Western remedies, such as prescription
drugs, have not worked for them.

About half of the center's patients receive some massage therapy as
part of their treatment program, which may also include traditional
medicine.

On a recent morning, Anna McGuirk, 45, sat on the edge of a massage
table in a hospital gown. About five years ago she began to
experience migraines so severe that doctors gave her morphine and
Demerol. Her primary care doctor sent her to a neurologist, who put
her on pain relievers and antidepressants. Nothing worked.

Finally the neurologist referred her to the East-West Center, where
she was treated by Dr. Jun Liang Yu, a Chinese-born doctor trained
in Western medicine in Asia, who practices acupuncture and massage
therapy.

''That was the first time anyone had touched my neck or shoulders''
in a medical setting, McGuirk said of her massage treatments with
Yu. She is convinced that massage has been a key factor in her
improvement. ``Without it, I'd be back to migraines three to four
times a week.''




Brandi Hugo, 30, who suffers from interstitial cystitis -- a chronic
inflammation of the bladder -- is another East-West Center patient
who attributes her improvement primarily to massage. After years of
ineffective treatment with antibiotics, she was treated at UCLA with
acupuncture, a few muscle relaxants and massage. She has been off
antibiotics for two years.

Hui does not believe massage is a panacea. Nor does he believe it
can replace surgery or medications. But he does believe it is ``an
important frontline approach for a lot of chronic problems, or
prevention of chronic problems.''

With hospitals struggling with rising medical costs, the idea of
hiring massage therapists will continue to be a tough sell, some
health professionals say. Over time, however, massage advocates hope
that research that supports the safety, benefit and, perhaps, even
the cost-effectiveness of medical massage will help persuade more
hospitals to give it a try.