Scientific Proof Of Massage And Stress Reduction

We all know on a rather intuitive basis that massage is a healthy treatment modality that reduces stress, but a recent study now provides actual scientific proof of massage and stress reduction. I love it when Science does this.

Researchers hooked up fifty-odd people to IV catheters so they could immediately draw blood just before and after a massage.  Then, they had some of them get Swedish massage, and some just light massage.  I’m more than a little curious how they got anybody to relax long enough for a massage with an IV catheter sticking out of their arm, but hey, that’s just me.

Both groups actually showed measurable changes after only a single session of massage, which is pretty amazing, actually.  Specifically, the Swedish group had a decrease in cortisol and arginine vasopressin, and an increase in white blood cells (immune cells).

STRESS HORMONES

So what does all that mean?  Well, if you’ve read a lot of other pages on this site, odds are you’ve encountered the word cortisol before.  Cortisol is a hormone released by the adrenal gland in times of stress.  In other words, it’s a stress hormone.

In itty bitty short term doses, it’s actually a good thing.  It helps reduce inflammation and get us past a physically stressful event.  In long term, chronic elevation of cortisol, all kinds of bad stuff happens.

Such as?  Such as decreased immune system, decreased tissue repair, increased deposting of fat (especially around the belly), lowered bone formation (think osteoporosis), water retention… it sucks, basically.  You don’t want long term, elevated cortisol.

Unfortunately, most of us have it.

STRESS IN THE MODERN WORLD

At first glance, the stress response may seem like a stupid idea, with all that cortisol and lowering the immune system and other problems associated with it.  But remember that our bodies developed in a very different environment than the modern industrial age.

Back in the day, human beings had a lot more physical danger in their lives.  Actually, every living thing does… face it, Nature is a battleground.  Everything is trying to eat everything else.  And when humanity was still out there in the midst of nature, danger lurked around every corner.

The stress response is designed to prioritize short-term survival over long-term health.  So all of the resources devoted to a nice, calm, peaceful and healthy wellness existence, get shut down so you can avoid becoming lunch for something with a lot of teeth.

That’s why immune system, digestion, tissue repair, all go into the toilet while under stress.  None of those things help you run like crazy or fight for your life (which is why the stress response is also called the “fight or flight” response).

In this survival context, the stress response makes perfect sense.  Of course you want a boost when you’re fighting for your life.  And, in the good old days, those situations ended quickly (one way or another), so your body was able to go back to the non-stress state of health and wellness.

Not today, though.  Today, our stresses are chronic.   They don’t go away. A mortgage is a loooooong term stress.  Jobs (or the lack thereof) are a long term stress.  All the things that cause worry or anxiety in our lives tend to stick around for the long term.

So now, we can’t escape the stress.  It isn’t short term any longer.  We’re stuck with it… which our bodies aren’t adapted to handle.

This is why we say “stress kills”.  Because it puts our body into defense mode long-term which creates changes in our biochemistry (like elevated cortisol) that were never meant to last long-term… and they do damage to us as a result.

STRESS REDUCTION

So how do you deal with stress?  There’s basically two ways: remove it or deal with it.  By removing it, I mean, end the source of the stress itself.  This is not always practical, obviously, in a world where we’re pretty much forced to accept stressful situations in order to fit in with the rest of society.

The other way is to try to minimize the physical effects of stress.  Since we can’t prevent all stress in our lives, we need to take measures to reduce the impact… and part of that impact is cortisol and related stress hormones.

And now we know on a definitive basis that massage does reduce those stress hormone levels, which is great news.  After all, it’s not like massage has nasty side effects like medications do.  It’s pretty hard to mess yourself up with a massage (unless you have an injury and a not-so-great therapist).

So if you’ve felt like you need to indulge in a massage, first off, don’t even call it an indulgence.  It’s actually a very, very healthy thing to do- scientifically proven– and if there’s one thing you need to do in today’s health care climate, it’s take care of yourself.  Don’t wait for rescue.  Keep yourself healthy, because nobody else is going to do it for you.

Use massage for stress reduction and stay healthy!

Source article: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/21/health/research/21regimens.html?ref=health

More on cortisol here: http://www.healthyandy.com/2010/06/17/what-do-antioxidants-have-to-do-with-weight-loss/