Many people still feel massage is nothing more than a luxury, that because they don’t have pain or stiffness they don’t need to have a massage. There are so many health benefits to receiving regular massage therapy and because of these many benefits it can actually aid in the management of numerous diseases.

The following is an excerpt from a news report on the Northwest Parkinson’s Foundation website dated September 17, 2009:
One form of treatment that can supplement the treatment of Parkinson’s disease is massage therapy. Recent research has shown that regular massage therapy can help patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease improve in their daily functions, sleeping abilities, self-confidence, walking, and well-being, as well as decrease their overall stress levels.
Symptoms of Parkinson’s disease (rigidity, depression, fatigue, etc.) are conditions that massage therapy has been proven to relieve. The disease is a central nervous system disorder, where dopamine is not produced or received correctly. This failure of dopamine transmission leads to rigidity of muscles, poor balance, and fatigue.
Collectively these symptoms can lead to depression, isolation, and low-self esteem. As I have written in previous articles(1) massage therapy can help relieve many of these symptoms in all patients, whether they have Parkinson’s or not.
It should therefore come as no surprise that massage therapy has been shown to help lessen these symptoms in patients that do have Parkinson’s disease. In one study performed in 2002(2), adults with Parkinson’s disease were given either muscle relaxation classes or massage therapy twice a week for the course of five weeks.
While both groups of patients showed improvement, the group that received massage therapy showed higher levels of improvement in performing their daily activities and in their sleeping abilities. This was recorded in observations by the researchers as well as in assessments by the patients themselves.
The National Parkinson’s Foundation states: “The benefits of massage are recognized by many people with Parkinson’s disease.” Specific benefits may include: reduction in rigidity and tremor, improvement in sleep, increase in daily stamina, reduction in anxiety, and increased feeling of relaxation.