The general public understands that massage is good medicine, and this is reflected in the growing use of massage therapy and energy work in U.S. hospitals.
According to research conducted in January 2017, 82 percent of hospital patients claimed massage therapy was the most helpful form of hospital therapy. The patients in this survey were between the ages of 19-95 years old, according to the report.
“On a daily basis, the acute pain service sees firsthand the benefits that massage provides our patients, with improved mood, function and overall comfort,” said Lynn Anson, R.N., B.C., a pain management nurse at Children’s Mercy Hospitals and Clinics in Kansas City, Missouri.
Massage therapy alleviates the anxiety associated with painful medical procedures, and is sometimes offered during such procedures, said Gayle MacDonald, L.M.T., an oncology massage educator and author of books, including Massage for the Hospital Patient and Medically Frail Client, who teaches massage at Oregon Health and Sciences University in Portland, Oregon.
The tension relieved often leads to patients sleeping better, which helps them heal faster.
Source: massagemag.com
