|
Massage tools, Massagers, Herbal Heat Therapy, Buckwheat
Pillows, and Supports
Newsletter Details
Newsletter Signup
| |
Massage Therapy Provides improved immune function to HIV Adolescents
HIV positive adolescents recruited from a large urban university hospital’s
outpatient clinic were randomly assigned to receive massage therapy or
progressive muscle relaxation two-times per week for 12 weeks.
To assess treatment effects, participants were assessed for depression,
anxiety and immune changes before and after treatment. Adolescents who received
massage therapy versus those who experienced relaxation therapy reported feeling
less anxious and they were less depressed and showed enhanced immune function by
the end of the 12-week study.
Immune changes included increased Natural Killer cell number. In addition,
the HIV disease progression markers CD4/CD8 ratio and CD4 number showed an
increase for the massage therapy group only.
Following three months treatment, the HIV positive adolescents who received
massage therapy reported feeling less depressed than the adolescents who
participated in progressive muscle relaxation sessions. In addition, the
adolescents in the massage therapy group showed improved immune function
supporting previous research on decreased depression and improved immune
function following massage therapy.
Miguel A. Diego, Tiffany Field, Maria Hernandez-Reif,
Kimberly Shaw, Lawrence Friedman and Gail Ironson; Intern J. Neuroscience, 2001,
Vol. 106
Site map
|
