This pregnancy massage study shows that massage therapy is more than a “treat” or a “luxury”!
The Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami assigned twenty-six pregnant women to a massage therapy or a relaxation therapy group for five weeks. Both groups reported feeling less anxious after the first session and less leg pain after the first and last session. Only the massage therapy group, however, reported the following benefits by the last day of the study:
- Reduced anxiety
- Improved mood
- Better sleep
- Less back pain
Field, T., Hernandez-Reif, M., Hart, S., Theakston, H., Schanberg, S., Kuhn, C. & Burman, I. (1999). Pregnant women benefit from massage therapy. Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics & Gynecology, 20, 31-38.
