According to a study, therapeutic deep tissue body massage can lower the blood pressure and heart rate of its recipients. Perhaps local patients who are hypertensive and have problems with their heart rates can check out the effects of therapeutic deep tissue body massage services given by professional massage therapists in Charlotte NC.

The study entitled “The Effect of Deep-Tissue Massage Therapy on Blood Pressure and Heart Rate” was conducted by Alan David Kaye, M.D., Ph.D., D.A.B.P.M.; Aaron J. Kaye, Jan Swinford; Amir Baluch, M.D.; Brad A. Bawcom, B.S.; Thomas J. Lambert, M.D.; and Jason M. Hoover, M.D. from the Health Sciences Center of the Louisiana State University Department of Anesthesiology, New Orleans, Louisiana. The study was also sponsored by Lindsay’s Day Salon and Day Spa in Lubbock, Texas. Documentation of the study and its results were first published on March 1, 2008 on pages 125-128 of the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine.

The aim of the study was to examine the effect of deep tissue massage therapy on diastolic, systolic and mean arterial blood pressure and heart rate. It covered 263 participants, all volunteers, with the average age of 48. They should have been experiencing significant moderate to severe muscle pain or spasm and should have experienced massage therapy previously. The group of participants was 88 percent female and 12 percent male.

Before any intervention was done, the baseline diastolic, systolic and mean arterial blood pressure and heart rate of the participants were measured using an automatic blood-pressure cuff. A HEM-704C blood-pressure monitor was then used to store the blood-pressure and heart-rate data electronically.

The participants were given 45 to 60 minutes of deep tissue massage in separate sessions from November 2004 to March 2006. The massage sessions were given at Lindsay’s Day Salon and Day Spa in Lubbock, Texas. A professional massage therapist with 22 years of experience administered the massage sessions. Each time, relaxing music was played very softly in the background. Selections were taken from 21 different CDs.

After each massage session, the participant’s blood pressure and heart rate were again measured. Before and after massage measures were compared and then processed through analysis of variance with post-hoc Scheffe’s F-test.

Results of the study showed that deep tissue body massage reduced the blood pressure and heart rate of the participants. There was an average decrease of 10.4 millimeters of mercury in systolic pressure, an average decrease of 5.3 millimeters of mercury in diastolic pressure, and an average decrease of 7.0 millimeters of mercury in mean arterial pressure. There was also an average decrease of 10.8 beats per minute in heart rate.

The researchers did not do any correlation between the music played during the massage sessions and the decreases in the participants’ blood pressure and heart rate. They reported that the music most likely did not have any effect on the participants’ hemodynamics because it was played at barely audible levels.

In conclusion, the researchers summed up: “The present study demonstrates a high correlation between deep-tissue massage and reduction in blood pressure and heart rate. These data are encouraging and positive, representing optimism and a hopeful outlook for future research in this area.”

The study focused on the beneficial effects of therapeutic deep tissue body massage. It would also be good for patients to test the beneficial effects of various other therapeutic body massage services such as reflexology massage, sports massage, Swedish massage, back massage and foot massage given by highly trained massage therapists. You can help them try out these massage services by giving them massage gift cards to a reputable massage clinic in Charlotte NC.