November 2006

Massage therapy pilot study concludes

A full-scale study of massage therapy for tension headaches may be on the horizon for the Wolfe-Harris Center for Clinical Studies (WHCCS) at Northwestern Health Sciences University.

The WHCCS recently completed a pilot study of massage therapy versus self-care education for tension-type headaches. The study was funded by a $19,935 grant from the Massage Therapy Foundation and an in-kind contribution from Northwestern.

The trial had three aims:

• To determine the feasibility of a full-scale randomized clinical trial to assess the relative effectiveness of massage therapy and self-care education for tension-type headaches;

• To assess if individuals with tension-type headaches would experience clinically important changes after a 10-week therapeutic massage regimen; and

• To describe the participants’ and massage therapists’ experiences with massage as a treatment.

“We did determine that a full-scale trial is feasible,” said Michele Maiers, DC, MPH, an associate professor and the principal investigator of the study. “Although we did determine that self-care education was not a good comparison.”

Although the sample size was small for the pilot study — only 25 people received massage therapy for their headaches — the clinical changes observed were very promising.

“We saw very positive changes in the duration, intensity, and disability associated with tension-type headaches, although we cannot draw conclusions because the sample size is too small,” says Dr. Maiers. “Patients were overwhelmingly satisfied and the vast majority felt they had improved.”

The WHCCS will begin seeking grants for a full-scale study of massage therapy for tension-type headaches later this year.

Source: Northwestern Health Sciences University, www.nwhealth.edu

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