Massage Therapy for Post Surgical Recovery

Massage therapy has been shown to have some benefits to patients going in for surgery, as well as for those patients recovering from surgeries. Massage has shown promise for use as an adjunctive therapy for the surgical floor of hospitals and outpatient medical centers.

A study published in the Journal of Cataract and Refractive Surgery demonstrated a benefit to patients who received a hand massage before going in for a cataract surgery procedure. Patients who received the massage had reduced levels of epinephrine and norepinephrine, where the control group had increased levels of cortisol, epinephrine, and norepinephrine. The study concluded that hand massage before cataract surgery decreased psychological and physiological anxiety levels.

Another study published in Lik Sprava, a Ukrainian publication, in 2002, demonstrated that neck massage on patients who had undergone thyroid surgery had a beneficial effect on their recovery. In 85% of patients, the skin tone of the surgical area improved, the cutaneous and muscle tone of the surgical area was improved, and 48% of patients in the study had reduced edema and swelling of the tissues involved in the surgical procedure. The patients were also able to reduce their doses of hormone medications.

Many people today are having many different types of surgeries. The medical technology is increasing at an ever faster rate, so that many new procedures are being devised every day. From simple cataract surgery to correct vision problems, to major spinal and open heart surgeries, many people are in need of help with their post surgical recovery. Considering the studies above would lead one to believe that massage therapy can help with post surgical recovery for many different types of surgery. This would be a correct assumption, since massage has been shown to have numerous beneficial effects on those who are healthy, as well as on those who are suffering from various conditions or who have had surgery.

If you are interested in learning more about mobile massage therapy, please visit our website by clicking here. If you would like to view our studies pate, with links to many studies on a variety of health conditions that can benefit from massage therapy, please click here.

Please see the studies page, and click on "Massage For Surgery" to view the studies referenced in this article.