Abstract
What was once considered a luxury is now accepted as a form of medical treatment. According to the American Massage Therapy Association, 50 million Americans discussed with their doctors introducing massage therapy as a part of their healing process (amta.org). 62 percent of the doctors strongly recommended massage therapy as an alternative therapy (amta.org). Based on this principal massage therapy is shown to heal and improve various conditions instead of masking and prolonging the problems with pain medications. In this study, we used a variety of massage therapy modalities and were able to improve performance and quality of life while decreasing stress and pain levels. Massage therapy is beneficial for a variety of physical ailments. With this understanding we applied various advanced modalities of massage therapy treatments in a clinical setting. During the treatments, which consisted of traditional Western massage, we incorporated modalities such as cupping, hot stone, hydrotherapy, acupressure, reflexology, and stretching. In this study participants were treated on a weekly or biweekly basis for a series of ten weeks. Throughout the treatment period various methods were used to mark improvement of specific ailments. These methods included levels of range of motion, discomfort, performance, stress, and pain. Also included was frequency and severity of specific ailments. The results indicated a significant decrease in symptoms resulting from each individual condition.
