Six versus twelve weeks of Swedish massage therapy for a generalized anxiety disorder

Massage therapy is commonly used as a relief from anxiety and stress. Acute treatment of Generalized Anxiety Disorder often requires 3 months or more of care to optimize response.

Currently, there was only few studies that evaluated the effectiveness of massage for GAD.  A case series reported that patients with GAD benefited from Swedish Massage therapy. Sherman and colleagues reported a study in a mixed population of participants. A comparison of weekly massage sessions versus a non-intervention control condition did not demonstrate any benefit for massage therapy. Mark Rapaport and colleagues’ reported another study which demonstrated that six weeks of twice-weekly Swedish Massage Therapy was more effective than an active control in decreasing Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale Scores (HAM-A).

Thus, a follow-up study aimed to determine if an additional six weeks of twice-weekly Swedish massage could lead to more significant clinical benefits. The study recruited 47 participants, where 23 were allocated to receive massage therapy while the rest received light touch.

The study found that HAM-A scores continued to decrease with an additional six weeks of therapy. However, the greatest benefit occurred during the first 12 sessions compared to the subsequent second 12 sessions.

These preliminary findings suggest that the majority of benefit in symptom reduction occurs in the first six weeks and that six weeks of twice-weekly Swedish massage may be sufficient for most patients.