by Kathleen Doheny
Massage, an ancient treatment described as early as 3000 B.C., has taken a back seat to pharmaceuticals and other modes of care. But thats all changing as scientific studies suggest massage therapy can relieve stress and pain, enhance immune function, banish anxiety and speed athletes recovery.
In 1976, Tiffany Fields baby girl was born prematurely. Today, her daughter is 23, strong and healthy. Field credits massage therapy.
While pregnant with her daughter, Field, a psychologist and researcher at the University of Miami School of Medicine, was studying whether massage therapy --the power of touch --could help premature babies grow and thrive. Her own daughter, lovingly given massage therapy in the early weeks of her life, became part of that proof.
Since then, Field has completed more than 60 others on the value of massage and has published her findings in respected medical journals. With her colleagues and other researchers, she has also found massage therapy beneficial for reducing pain, enhancing immune function, enhancing alertness and helping athletes recover from their injuries.
Field and others have also witnessed a growing acceptance of massage therapy. Its one of the fastest-growing so-called alternative or complementary therapies, according to a landmark report on alternative medicine published last year in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Consumers now visit massage therapists about 114 million times a year, according to estimates in the JAMA report.
Massage is shedding its alternative, fringe medicine reputation and has come to be regarded as a valuable complement to other treatments.
"Physicians are jumping on the bandwagon," says Field. She regularly takes calls from doctors asking about the treatment. One of the most recent was from a doctor in a burn unit, who wondered about the value of massaging wounds.
In the United States, a typical one-hour full body massage costs about $48 to $61, according the American Massage Therapy Assn. in Evanston, Ill., which has more than 33,000 members in 28 countries. Some health and managed care plans are beginning to cover prescribed massage therapy, according to the association.
Massage therapy is a new fringe benefit at some offices. Employees of Futuredontics in Santa Monica, Calif., which operates the 1-800-Dentist referral service, are entitled to a weekly 10-minute clothed massage in the companys special massage therapy room. Workers always exit the massage room smiling, says Diane Lindley, a company spokeswoman.
At major metropolitan airports, including Denver, Seattle and Chicago, stressed-out travelers can get a 10 or 15 minute shoulder massage for about a dollar a minute at in-terminal massage bars.
"There are physical, mental, and spiritual benefits to massage," says Maria Grove, founding director of The Touch Therapy Institute in Encino, Calif., a massage instruction school. "It takes you to another level of dealing with your life and your problems."
Massage, an ancient treatment described as early as 3000 B.C., has taken a back seat to pharmaceuticals and other modes of care. But thats all changing as scientific studies suggest massage therapy can relieve stress and pain, enhance immune function, banish anxiety and speed athletes recovery.
In 1976, Tiffany Fields baby girl was born prematurely. Today, her daughter is 23, strong and healthy. Field credits massage therapy.
While pregnant with her daughter, Field, a psychologist and researcher at the University of Miami School of Medicine, was studying whether massage therapy --the power of touch --could help premature babies grow and thrive. Her own daughter, lovingly given massage therapy in the early weeks of her life, became part of that proof.
Since then, Field has completed more than 60 others on the value of massage and has published her findings in respected medical journals. With her colleagues and other researchers, she has also found massage therapy beneficial for reducing pain, enhancing immune function, enhancing alertness and helping athletes recover from their injuries.
Field and others have also witnessed a growing acceptance of massage therapy. Its one of the fastest-growing so-called alternative or complementary therapies, according to a landmark report on alternative medicine published last year in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Consumers now visit massage therapists about 114 million times a year, according to estimates in the JAMA report.
Massage is shedding its alternative, fringe medicine reputation and has come to be regarded as a valuable complement to other treatments.
"Physicians are jumping on the bandwagon," says Field. She regularly takes calls from doctors asking about the treatment. One of the most recent was from a doctor in a burn unit, who wondered about the value of massaging wounds.
In the United States, a typical one-hour full body massage costs about $48 to $61, according the American Massage Therapy Assn. in Evanston, Ill., which has more than 33,000 members in 28 countries. Some health and managed care plans are beginning to cover prescribed massage therapy, according to the association.
Massage therapy is a new fringe benefit at some offices. Employees of Futuredontics in Santa Monica, Calif., which operates the 1-800-Dentist referral service, are entitled to a weekly 10-minute clothed massage in the companys special massage therapy room. Workers always exit the massage room smiling, says Diane Lindley, a company spokeswoman.
At major metropolitan airports, including Denver, Seattle and Chicago, stressed-out travelers can get a 10 or 15 minute shoulder massage for about a dollar a minute at in-terminal massage bars.
"There are physical, mental, and spiritual benefits to massage," says Maria Grove, founding director of The Touch Therapy Institute in Encino, Calif., a massage instruction school. "It takes you to another level of dealing with your life and your problems."