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A Back-to-Basics Therapy
April 26, 2001 09:30:04 AM PST,
HealthScoutNews
By Randy Dotinga HealthScout Reporter
WEDNESDAY, April 25 (HealthScout) -- Can a medical treatment be good
for you, feel great and not require a drop of effort? If your back aches,
the answer may be a resounding "yes."
Researchers in Washington state report that a simple massage every week
may be just the ticket for people who suffer from chronic lower back
pain.
And your massage therapist doesn't need to cost a bundle at a fancy day
spa. Established massage techniques -- like Swedish and deep tissue
methods -- seem to work well.
"The important message is that there's now some scientific evidence
to suggest that massage may be an effective treatment," says Dan
Cherkin, acting director of Seattle's Group Health Center for Health
Studies.
In the mid-1990s, Washington became the first state to require health
insurers to offer access to massage therapists, acupuncturists and
natural medicine practitioners, Cherkin says.
The health center, which researches medical issues for an HMO, decided to
study how chronic back-pain sufferers react to acupuncture, massage and
so-called "self-care."
The study's results appear in the current issue of the Archives of
Internal Medicine.
Back pain ranks with a long list of other ailments -- including chronic
fatigue syndrome and irritable bowel syndrome -- whose causes are unclear
and whose treatments are often unsuccessful.
"You can pick as many theories [about the cause] as there are
experts," says Dr. Paul Shekelle, a Los Angeles internist who
studies back pain.
Some think disks or muscles are at fault, while others, like
chiropractors, blame misalignment of the spine, Shekelle says.
The Seattle researchers studied 262 HMO members, ages 20 to 70, who
reported at least six weeks of back pain. Some underwent 10 weeks of
acupuncture treatments, while others were sent to massage therapists for
up to 10, one-hour visits.
A third group received instructions on how to take better care of
themselves. They learned "practical" suggestions about
exercise, relaxation techniques and ways to think about their pain,
Cherkin says.
The subjects were asked to list how many of 23 activities were limited by
their back pain. The list included such things as walking long distances,
getting out of chairs and going up stairs.
At the beginning of the study, the subjects listed an average of 12
limited activities. By the end of the 10 weeks, people who had massages
listed an average of only six limited activities, compared to eight for
acupuncture patients and nine for self-care patients.
Also, the massage subjects scored slightly lower than the other groups on
a scale reflecting the pain they experienced.
All the subjects were allowed to continue taking medicine during the
10-week period.
So why does massage work?
"The most obvious possibility is that it is due to the manipulation
of the soft tissues of the back," Cherkin says.
Relaxation may play a role, too. "The massage experience also
includes time out for an hour, lying on a comfortable table, with a nice
atmosphere and a person who is caring for you," he says.
The massage treatments cost about $50 an hour, which is typical for the
Seattle area, Cherkin says.
According to Shekelle, doctors have been moving away from passive
treatments, like bed rest and massage, and toward requiring patients with
back pain to exercise and move around. In light of that, he says, the
findings in support of massage are surprising.
"What this study tells me is that massage is worthy of further
investigation," Shekelle says.
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