Most Studies of Massage for Pain Show Low Certainty of Evidence
By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, July 18, 2024 -- Most reviews of the use of massage therapy for painful adult health conditions report low- or very low-certainty evidence, according to a review published online July 15 in JAMA Network Open.
Selene Mak, Ph.D., from the Veterans Health Administration at the Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, and colleagues conducted a systematic literature review to understand outcomes of massage therapy for painful adult health conditions.
Based on mapping of 17 systematic reviews covering 13 health conditions, the researchers found that across the reviews, no conclusions were rated as high certainty of evidence and seven conclusions were rated as moderate-certainty evidence. Among the conclusions rated as moderate certainty, massage therapy had beneficial associations with pain.
"This study found that despite massage therapy having been the subject of hundreds of randomized clinical trials and dozens of systematic reviews about adult health conditions since 2018, there were few conclusions that had greater than low certainty of evidence," the authors write. "The field of massage therapy would be best advanced by educating the wider research community with clearer definitions of massage therapy and whether it is appropriate to include multiple modalities in the same systematic review."
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted July 2024
Read this next
Fewer Opioids Being Prescribed for Low Back Pain in the Emergency Department
FRIDAY, July 18, 2025 -- From 2016 to 2022, 5.3 percent of all U.S. emergency department visits were related to low back pain, with opioid administration and prescription...
Gabapentin for Back Pain Linked to Increased Risk for Dementia, MCI
FRIDAY, July 11, 2025 -- For adults with chronic low back pain, gabapentin prescription is associated with an increased risk for dementia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI)...
Higher Daily Walking Volume, Intensity Tied to Lower Risks for Low Back Pain
TUESDAY, June 17, 2025 -- Daily walking volume and walking intensity are inversely associated with the risk for chronic low back pain (LBP), according to a study published online...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.