Massage helps neck pain but only if the ‘dose’ is high enough

Massage is often used to help neck pain but little research has been carried out about how much massage makes a difference.

So a team from Seattle split 228 people with chronic neck pain into five different groups, which received various doses of massage for a five-week period. The results showed that the benefits of massage treatments for chronic neck pain increase with dose.

They found that people who received 30-minute treatments two or three times weekly were not significantly better than a wait-listed control group. But those who received 60-minute treatments two or three times weekly showed significant improvement in neck dysfunction and pain intensity compared to the control group.

People who were massaged were three times more likely to have improvement in neck function if they received 60 minutes of massage twice a week and five times more likely if they received 60 minutes of massage three times a week.

“Clinicians recommending massage and researchers studying this therapy should ensure that patients receive a likely effective dose of treatment,” the researchers conclude.

To read the original research click here.