Massage Benefits Osteoarthritis Sufferers

Researchers at the Yale Prevention Research Center carried out a 16 week study attempting to identify the potential benefits of Swedish massage on osteoarthritis patients with pain, stiffness and limited range of motion (1).

68 patients who had been diagnosed by x-ray as having osteoarthritis of the knee were randomly assigned to either an intervention group that received massage therapy immediately or to a wait-list control group that received massage after an initial eight-week delay.The individuals in the massage intervention group received a standard one-hour Swedish massage twice a week for 4 weeks, followed by Swedish massage once as week for the next 4 weeks.

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The results indicated that the intervention group receiving massage therapy demonstrated significant improvements in their mean pain level. There were also measurable improvements in stiffness and physical functional disability. The control group experienced similar improvements when they received the massage therapy. When the patients were reassessed eight weeks after the completion of the massage intervention, the benefits of massage persisted and remained significant, although the magnitude of the effects were somewhat reduced.

The study authors suggest that massage therapy could be used in conjunction with conventional treatment for osteoarthritis and ultimately, massage may lessen a patient's reliance on medications and decrease health care costs.


(1) Perlman Adam I, et al 'Massage Therapy for Osteoarthritis of the Knee' Archives of Internal Medicine 2006; 166, No. 22 (Dec 11, 2006): 2533-2538

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