Researchers in Washington state report that a simple massage every week may be just the ticket for people who suffer from chronic lower back pain.

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And your masseuse doesn't need to cost a bundle at a fancy day spa. Established massage techniques - like Swedish and deep tissue methods - seem to work well.

"The important message is that there's now some scientific evidence to suggest that massage may be an effective treatment," says Dan Cherkin, acting director of Seattle's Group Health Centre for Health Studies.

The health centre decided to study how chronic back-pain sufferers react to acupuncture, massage and so-called 'self-care.'

The study's results appear in the current issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Back pain ranks with a long list of other ailments - including chronic fatigue syndrome and irritable bowel syndrome - whose causes are unclear and whose treatments are often unsuccessful.

"You can pick as many theories [about the cause] as there are experts," says Dr Paul Shekelle, a Los Angeles internist who studies back pain.

Some think disks or muscles are at fault, while others, like chiropractors, blame misalignment of the spine, Shekelle says.

The Seattle researchers studied 262 people who reported at least six weeks of back pain. Some underwent 10 weeks of acupuncture treatments, while others were sent to massage therapists for up to 10, one-hour visits.

A third group received instructions on how to take better care of themselves. They learned "practical" suggestions about exercise, relaxation techniques and ways to think about their pain, Cherkin says.

The subjects were asked to list how many of 23 activities were limited by their back pain. The list included such things as walking long distances, getting out of chairs and going up stairs.

At the beginning of the study, the subjects listed an average of 12 limited activities. By the end of the 10 weeks, people who had massages listed an average of only six limited activities, compared to eight for acupuncture patients and nine for self-care patients.

Also, the massage subjects scored slightly lower than the other groups on a scale reflecting the pain they experienced.

So why does massage work?

"The most obvious possibility is that it is due to the manipulation of the soft tissues of the back," Cherkin says.

Relaxation may play a role, too. "The massage experience also includes time out for an hour, lying on a comfortable table, with a nice atmosphere and a person who is caring for you," he says.

According to Shekelle, doctors have been moving away from passive treatments, like bed rest and massage, and toward requiring patients with back pain to exercise and move around. In light of that, he says, the findings in support of massage are surprising.

"What this study tells me is that massage is worthy of further investigation," Shekelle says.

What to do

If your back hurts, see a doctor. And while Shekelle is unwilling at this point to recommend massages, he isn't aware of any risk they pose for back-pain sufferers.

Remember, however, that chronic back pain is difficult to treat, even with a mixture of pain pills, exercise and spinal manipulation. Few chronic back-pain sufferers become pain-free, Shekelle says.

Read more:
This is your back speaking

 

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