Massage Therapy Fast Facts

Here are some interesting tidbits from the Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals. www.massagetherapy.com

Fourteen percent of U.S. adults visited a massage therapist in 2008, and 42 percent have received a professional massage sometime in their life.

Consumers in 2009 had a positive response to a massage, with 80 percent reporting favorable feelings about their most recent experience.

The median price for a one-hour massage is $65 (Harstad Strategic Research 2009 Consumer Survey)

Swedish massage therapy is the most requested service in spas and spas are the most common place to receive a massage (43 percent of all sessions.) (ISPA 2008 Global Consumer Survey and Harstad Consumer Research 2009).

Massage therapy is a safe and effective way to reduce pain and improve function in adults with osteoarthritis of the knee, reports a 2006 study in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

The Annals of Internal Medicine reported in 2003 that massage therapy was effective for treating persistent back pain, as did a 2000 report by the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

Research has shown massage reduces carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms. The Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, 2004.

Massage therapy has been shown to strengthen the immune system, according to research published in the Journal of Neuroscience, 1996, and Psychosomatic Medicine, 2000

In 2005, Cancer Control reported massage therapy effectively reduced stress and anxiety in cancer patients, with a promising outlook for pain control and management of other symptoms.

Oncology patients show less pain, fatigue, nausea, anxiety and depression following massage therapy, according to a study by Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 2004, and a report in the Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 2002.

Forty-eight percent of respondents to a Consumer Reports survey rated massage therapy as “very helpful” in relieving back pain. The survey revealed pain relief was a top motivator for those seeking massage. (Consumer Reports, May 2009)