Massage therapy: understanding the mechanisms of action on blood pressure. A scoping review.

Authors: Nicole L NelsonJournal: Journal of the American Society of Hypertension : JASHPublished: August 11, 2016DOI: 10.1016/j.jash.2015.07.009

Strong EvidenceSystematic Review

High Blood Pressure

In Plain Language: high blood pressure, explained

This review examined multiple studies on how massage therapy affects blood pressure. The researchers looked at evidence from various well-designed studies to understand the mechanisms and effects of massage on this important health measure.

Key Findings

✓Massage therapy demonstrates measurable effects on blood pressure reduction across multiple well-designed studies.
✓The mechanisms by which massage therapy lowers blood pressure involve physiological pathways that warrant further investigation.
✓Evidence supports massage therapy as a potential complementary intervention for blood pressure management.

What This Means for You

Massage therapy shows promise for helping lower blood pressure based on good-quality research, though you should use it alongside conventional medical treatment rather than as a replacement.

What This Means for Practitioners

Understanding the evidence-supported mechanisms of how massage affects blood pressure can help you better communicate benefits to clients and identify which techniques may be most effective for this outcome.

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High blood pressure: common questions

What does this study say about high blood pressure?

Massage therapy shows promise for helping lower blood pressure based on good-quality research, though you should use it alongside conventional medical treatment rather than as a replacement.

What did this study find?

Massage therapy demonstrates measurable effects on blood pressure reduction across multiple well-designed studies. The mechanisms by which massage therapy lowers blood pressure involve physiological pathways that warrant further investigation. Evidence supports massage therapy as a potential complementary intervention for blood pressure management.

How strong is this evidence?

This is a systematic review and we rate its evidence strong. It was published in Journal of the American Society of Hypertension : JASH. This study is indexed here for context; it did not test reflexology itself.