Massage
improved daily functioning, increased quality of sleep
and decreased stress-hormone levels in people with Parkinson's
disease, according to a recent study.
"Parkinson's
Disease Symptoms are Reduced by Massage Therapy and
Progressive Muscle Exercises," was conducted by the
Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami,
along with staff from the university's neurology department
and Duke University's pharmacology department.
Sixteen
adults diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, a chronic
disease of the central nervous system characterized
by tremor, muscle weakness and rigidity, were randomly
assigned to receive either massage therapy or progressive
muscle relaxation, for 30 minutes twice a week for five
weeks.
The
massage consisted of 15 minutes in the prone position,
focusing on the back, buttocks, ribs, thighs, calves
and feet; and 15 minutes in the supine position, focusing
on the thighs, lower legs, feet, hands, forearms, upper
arms, neck, face and head.
The
progressive muscle relaxation consisted of subjects,
guided by a cassette tape, tightening and relaxing their
muscles while lying on their back.
On the first and last days of the study, urine samples
were collected; participants completed self-reports on
daily functioning, sleep and fatigue; and physicians evaluated
the participants.
The
Activities of Daily Life Scale, which measures the amount
of daily activities a person with Parkinson's disease
can perform, was used by both the physicians and the
participants to assess daily functioning.
A
15-item sleep scale was used to gauge subjects' quality
of sleep and levels of fatigue, with options ranging
from "did not awaken" and "had no trouble sleeping"
to "was awake 10 hours" and "had a lot of trouble falling
asleep."
Urine
samples were collected to determine participants' stress-hormone
levels.
According
to the physicians and the subjects' self-reports, daily
functioning improved for those in the massage-therapy
group.
"These
data are consistent with previous research showing improvement
on activities of daily living following massage therapy,
for example, for patients with multiple sclerosis and
spinal-cord injuries," state the study's authors. "Together
these findings suggest that massage therapy enhances
functioning in progressive or degenerative central nervous
system disorders or conditions."
The
urine samples revealed a decrease in the stress hormones
norepinephrine and epinephrine for the massage-therapy
group and an increase in dopamine and epinephrine for
the progressive-relaxation group.
"These
findings suggest that progressive muscle relaxation
exercises may increase dopamine levels, which have been
associated with both a progression of the disease and
a slowing of the disease," state the study's authors.
Both
groups reported more effective sleep by the end of the
study, but the massage group alone reported less sleep
disturbance.
Source:
The Touch Research Institute and the department
of neurology at the University of Miami School of Medicine;
Duke University Department of Pharmacology. Authors:
Maria Hernandez-Reif, Ph.D., Tiffany Field, Ph.D., Shay
Largie, Christy Cullen, Julia Beutler, Chris Sanders,
William Weiner, Dinorah Rodriguez-Bateman, Lisette Zelaya,
Saul Schanberg and Cynthia Kuhn. Originally published
in the Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, July
2002, Vol. 6, No. 2, pp. 177-182
Article
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