Does massage help you if you have achilles tendinopathy

Globally more than 10 million people die each year from conditions related to high blood pressure.  In clinic we notice that high blood pressure medication is one of the most common medications that are clients take (outside the contraceptive pill). The Hygia Chronotherapy trail, looked at 19,084 Caucasian Spanish men and women over a period of 6 years.  Patients were split into two groups, with one asked to take their high blood pressure medication in the morning and one in the evening. The patients that took their blood pressure medication before bedtime are 66% less likely to die from heart and circulatory conditions, according to the researchers. Experts believe a person’s circadian rhythm or “body clock” can change the effect of the medication.  The study found that blood pressure dipped lower at night in those who took the medication before bed compared to those who took it in the morning. Researchers say that further studies looking at people of different ethnicities should take place before doctors change their advice to patients on when to take blood pressure medication. Reference https://academic.oup.com/eurheartj/advance-article/doi/10.1093/eurheartj/ehz754/5602478

My initial response to this question, is off course not.  A placebo is anything that seems to be a "real" medical treatment -- but isn't i.e. it is fake.  The judgement of what is fake is based on the availability of scientific evidence. Traditionally in medical trails patients don't know if they are taking a placebo.  For most of my readers, they would probably refuse to take a placebo, as they know its a placebo, so you would think your wasting your time.  I would agree with this, but was a bit surprised by some recent research. Around half of 97 patients with chronic lower back pain were given a pill bottle with the word "Placebo" printed on it - after they been told that a placebo contains no active ingredient - along with a standard NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) pain killer, while the remainder of the group was just given the NSAID. After taking the pills twice a day for three weeks, the patients taking they placebo plus the NSAID reported a 30% reduction in pain compared with a 9% decrease in those given only the NSAID. So the researches discovered that a placebo may be effective treatment for lower back pain even when people know they are taking a placebo! Reference Carvalho, Cláudia; Caetano et al, 2016, Open-label placebo treatment in chronic low back pain: a randomized controlled trial, Journal of Pain, December 2016, Vol 157, Issue 2, p 2766 - 2772  

While amongst my clients there is a clear preference for massage, I decided to investigate if there was any scientific evidence if massage was better than reflexology (or vice versa) at reducing pain and stress. In 2012 there was a small study comparing massage to reflexology on cancer survivors over the age of 75 living in a care home.  The study compared the effectiveness of 20 minutes of reflexology treatments against 20 minute Swedish massage by examining the impact on the patients stress levels, pain levels and mood.  Pre and post treatment levels of salivary cortisol, observed affect and pain were compared. Both reflexology and Swedish massage resulted in significant declines in salivary cortisol indicating a reduction in stress levels, reduced pain levels and improvements in mood.        So to go back to my original question, there is scientific evidence for both and I suggest you book the treatment you prefer. Hodgson N, Lafferty D (2012) Reflexology versus Swedish Massage to Reduce Physiologic Stress and Pain and Improve Mood in Nursing Home Residents with Cancer: A Pilot Trial. Evidence Based Complement Alternat Med. 2:456897