# Changes in blood pressure after various forms of therapeutic massage: a preliminary study

-
PMID:
**16494570** - DOI: 10.1089/acm.2006.12.65

# Changes in blood pressure after various forms of therapeutic massage: a preliminary study

## Abstract

**
Objectives:
**
The objective of this study was to determine the change in blood pressure (BP) in normotensive and prehypertensive adults resulting from a therapeutic massage, and the factors associated with such changes, including demographic and massage characteristics.

**
Settings/location:
**
National University of Health Sciences Massage Therapy Clinic, Lombard, IL.

**
Subjects:
**
The subjects were 150 current adult massage therapy clients with BP lower than 150/95.

**
Interventions:
**
BP was measured before and after a therapeutic massage.

**
Outcome measures:
**
Change in BP and potential associated factors such as type of massage, duration of massage, specific body area massaged, amount of massage pressure, and demographic characteristics were studied.

**
Results:
**
Overall, systolic BP decreased by 1.8 mm Hg and diastolic BP increased by 0.1 mm Hg. Demographic factors associated with BP decrease included younger age (p = 0.01) and taller stature (p = 0.09). Type of massage was associated with change in BP: Swedish massage had the greatest effect at BP reduction. Trigger point therapy and sports massage both increased the systolic BP, and if both forms of massage were included in a session, both the systolic and diastolic BP readings significantly increased. No other massage factors were associated with a significant change in BP.

**
Conclusions:
**
Type of massage was the main factor affecting change in BP. Increases in BP were noted for potentially painful massage techniques, including trigger point therapy.

## Similar articles

-
Effects of weight loss and sodium reduction intervention on blood pressure and hypertension incidence in overweight people with high-normal blood pressure. The Trials of Hypertension Prevention, phase II. The Trials of Hypertension Prevention Collaborative Research Group.Arch Intern Med. 1997 Mar 24;157(6):657-67. Arch Intern Med. 1997. PMID: 9080920 Clinical Trial.
-
The effect of deep-tissue massage therapy on blood pressure and heart rate.J Altern Complement Med. 2008 Mar;14(2):125-8. doi: 10.1089/acm.2007.0665. J Altern Complement Med. 2008. PMID: 18315516
-
Effects of Swedish massage on blood pressure.Complement Ther Clin Pract. 2005 Nov;11(4):242-6. doi: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2005.02.008. Complement Ther Clin Pract. 2005. PMID: 16290894 Clinical Trial.
-
Massage therapy: understanding the mechanisms of action on blood pressure. A scoping review.J Am Soc Hypertens. 2015 Oct;9(10):785-793. doi: 10.1016/j.jash.2015.07.009. Epub 2015 Jul 30. J Am Soc Hypertens. 2015. PMID: 26324746 Review.
-
The role of massage in the management of the athlete: a review.Br J Sports Med. 1993 Mar;27(1):28-33. doi: 10.1136/bjsm.27.1.28. Br J Sports Med. 1993. PMID: 8457807 Free PMC article. Review.

## Cited by

-
Effect of Massage and Dry Cupping on Hemodynamic Parameters of Cardiac Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial.J Chiropr Med. 2023 Mar;22(1):60-71. doi: 10.1016/j.jcm.2022.07.002. Epub 2022 Aug 21. J Chiropr Med. 2023. PMID: 36844985 Free PMC article.
-
Evaluation of Local Skeletal Muscle Blood Flow in Manipulative Therapy by Diffuse Correlation Spectroscopy.Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2022 Jan 11;9:800051. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2021.800051. eCollection 2021. Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2022. PMID: 35087803 Free PMC article.
-
Effect of sports massage on performance and recovery: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med. 2020 May 7;6(1):e000614. doi: 10.1136/bmjsem-2019-000614. eCollection 2020. BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med. 2020. PMID: 32426160 Free PMC article.
-
The effect of a scalp massage on stress hormone, blood pressure, and heart rate of healthy female.J Phys Ther Sci. 2016 Oct;28(10):2703-2707. doi: 10.1589/jpts.28.2703. Epub 2016 Oct 28. J Phys Ther Sci. 2016. PMID: 27821918 Free PMC article.
-
The effects of the court-type Thai traditional massage on anatomical relations, blood flow, and skin temperature of the neck, shoulder, and arm.BMC Complement Altern Med. 2016 Sep 15;16:363. doi: 10.1186/s12906-016-1282-y. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2016. PMID: 27629400 Free PMC article.

## Publication types

## MeSH terms

## LinkOut - more resources

### Full Text Sources

### Medical