Academic Stress and Massage Therapy

In 1995 Diane Zeitlin, LMT ('91), received a $10,000 grant from the American Massage Therapy Association Foundation for a research project that looked at how massage therapy might benefit students during periods of academic stress. She worked with a team of researchers at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ). Nine healthy medical school students received a one-hour massage the day before an important academic exam.

Immunological function and anxiety levels were assessed before and after the massage. Blood samples looked at the number and activity of white blood cells. Levels of anxiety were measured by subjective questionnaires and objective measures of vital signs (respiratory rate, blood pressure, pulse, and temperature).

Research findings showed that a one-hour massage resulted in significant increases in the overall number of white blood cells and in the functioning of natural killer (NK) cells, which suggests some immunological benefit. There were also significant decreases in anxiety levels and respiratory rates. At a meeting with newsletter editor Barbara Goldschmidt, Zeitlin discussed her work.

What excited you about this research?

I was pleased that we found change in both the number and function of immune cells after massage. There was an increase in white blood cell count, as well as a greater ability of the natural killer cells to do their job, which is to attack viruses and tumor cells. These findings are consistent with another study done by Ironson (1), who found increased NK cell function after massage in individuals who were HIV positive.

I used an unscented lotion and massaged subjects with light to moderate pressure for one hour, following a scripted, full-body sequence. I purposely avoided deep pressure, as it could potentially produce a minor inflammatory response, which would complicate our findings. Massage is a complex experience, and it is a challenge to analyze its diverse effects.

One of the difficulties of doing scientific research is finances. The cost of doing immune assays is very high. It's the reason our study had to be small; only nine students were evaluated. We would have liked to do more blood draws, for instance, so we could investigate extended effects. We know people feel good after a massage and that they are better in the moment, but is it a quick fix or something more lasting?

The research findings were published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine(2), as well as the Massage Therapy Journal (3). At the AMTA convention in 2001, I gave a presentation and the press was there, which led to some general articles about stress and massage. I'm somewhat uncomfortable using this research to boast about massage's immunological benefits, however, because such a small population was studied. Hopefully, other therapists will try to get funding to do a major study, because that's what we need for the findings to be validated. Research is a slow process. I feel like I've added a small piece to the picture. Yes, it's promising, but there's so much more that needs to be known.

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Zeitlin's part-time work as a research assistant at UMDNJ provided the affiliation needed for this project. She subsequently became a research associate at the Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine at Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation, where she worked with a team that investigated alternative therapies for spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, and stroke. Therapies included acupuncture and Trager work for pain and Reiki for stroke. (4) Zeitlin is currently completing her master's degree in social work.

References

1. G. Ironson, et al. "Massage Therapy is Associated with Enhancement of the Immune System's Cytotoxic Capacity." International Journal of Neuroscience 84 (1996) 205-17.

2. Diane Zeitlin, LMT, Steven Keller, PhD, Samuel Shiflett, PhD, Steven Schleifer, MD, Jacqueline Bartlett, MD. "Immunological Effects of Massage Therapy During Academic Stress." Psychosomatic Medicine Vol. 62, No. 1 (2000) 83-84.

3. Diane Zeitlin, LMT, Steven Keller, PhD, Samuel Shiflett, PhD, Steven Schleifer, MD, Jacqueline Bartlett, MD. "Immunological Effects of Massage Therapy During Academic Stress." Massage Therapy Journal Vol. 40, No. 2 ( Summer 2001) 80-87.

4. Studies at
http://nccam.nih.gov/cgi-bin/bibliography.cgi.
Search by principal investigator's name, which is Shiflett.

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