Thai massage can help with Parkinson’s symptoms
Parkinson’s disease affects 1 in 350 people in the UK (Parkinson’s UK, 2018).
A ransomised controlled trail allocated 30 patients with Parkinson’s and muscle weakness to receive either six Thai massage treatments in three weeks alongside standard medical care or standard medical care alone.
Patients in the Thai masage group showed significant improvements in their peak flexion torque, peak extension torque and time to maximal flexion speed.
In conclusion the Thai massage study suggested Thai massage could help improve arm muscle strenght in people with Parkinsons.
References
Related Posts
Can massaging your baby improve the mood of new mothers?
I can't begin to imagine how worried, anxious & may be inadequate I would feel if I had a premature baby. I would imagine there is a really strong instinct & desire to the hold the baby which is more difficult if it needs to be in an incubator. A recent study has looked at the impact on the mother’s health of massaging premature babies. Fifty-two mothers with babies born at 30 - 38 weeks were randomly assigned ot an intervention or control group. Mothers in the experimental group were asked to massage their babies daily alongside standard medical care, while those in the control group only had standard medical care. Mothers in the experimental group were given an information pamphlet, training video and researches conducted a massage training session. They were then asked to perform a massage on their babies for 15 minutes each day for 5 days. Mothers were asked to complete a questionnaire rating changes in 65 "mood factors" including anxiety, depression and fatigue, on a five-point scale. Mood scores were consistent across both groups at the beginning of the study but there were significant differences by the end. Mothers who massaged their babies had a better mood than those who didn't. They also experienced less anxiety, depression & fatigue. Reading this did make me wonder the impact of massaging babies would have on the mood of mums whose babies weren't premature. Reference https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1556370717300937
So how does massage reduce pain? – Part 2
Previously I explained the scientific theory for "How does massage reduce muscle pain?" in the short term . But what about the long term? I would like to introduce to you the "descending pain suppression mechanism." The brain is not a passive receiver of sensory messages, but rather a centre that interprets them and makes constant adjustments accordingly. For example, everyone knows that the way you perceive pain will be influenced by whether you focus on it or think of something else instead. And it seems reasonable to suppose that evolutionary selection may have favoured those individuals who could ignore pain signals for long enough to take actions that let them escape and survive danger.
Unpleasant cutaneous sensations stimulate nuclei within the mid brain. These nuclei in turn initiate activity in the descending spinal tracts that release endogenous opiates (inhibitory neurotransmitters) within the spinal segment receiving the painful input. This diminishes the intensity of the pain transmitted to the higher centres. Sports and Deep Tissue massage techniques can reinforce a naturally occurring discomfort, causing much greater release of opiates and achieve a more profound pain suppression.
References Basbaum A, Fields H. (1978) Endogenous pain control mechanisms: review and hypothesis. Ann Neurol 4: 451-2. Watson J (1982) Pain mechanisms: a review. 3. Endogenous pain mechanisms. Australian Journal of Physiotherapy 27: 135-43
