Work

P02.190. Neural structural/functional and physiological correlates of massage therapy in response to physical stress

Year: 2012

Type: article

Abstract: Seven healthy right-handed young males, naïve to massage therapy, qualified for the study. Exclusion criteria ranged from having depression to cardiovascular diseases. The study used a within-subject design and the cold pressor test (CPT) to trigger the acute stress response before and after a 20 minute-standardized verum or sham foot massage. Blood samples were collected at each step of the protocol. fMRI data were collected using the arterial spin labeling technique to allow for quantification of cerebral blood flow. The functional paradigm included collection of baseline (rest) and CPT both before and after massage. There was a significant decrease in activity during stress after massage compared with pre-massage in the left caudate nucleus, rectus gyrus (Brodmann Area 11), and bilaterally in the inferior frontal gyrus. A decrease in the epinephrine and norepinephrine levels was also observed after the massage session. The decreased response following massage suggests a calming of the limbic-prefrontal cortical circuit that is activated during stress and effects on the sympathetic nervous system. These results provide preliminary evidence for the mechanism of massage therapy effects related to pain processing being related to reduction in a sympathetic response.

Source: BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine

DOI: 10.1186/1472-6882-12-s1-p246