Massage isn’t just for stressed out moms. According to a study by researchers at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, it offers both physical and psychological benefits to children with special health needs such as Sickle Cell Disease. In the study, published in the Journal of Pediatric Psychology, researchers found that massage helps to reduce pain, anxiety and depression.
Sickle Cell Disease is a genetic blood disorder that affects the red blood cells. It causes cells to become hard and pointed rather than the normal soft and round. Symptoms include anemia, repeat infections, and periodic pain. More than 70,000 Americans live with Sickle Cell Disease.
In the study by researchers Kathleen Lemanek, PhD, and Mark Ranalli, MD, thirty-four patients were massaged in a home setting with eighteen massaged by trained therapists and sixteen used as a control group. The children in the experimental group were found to be significantly less depressed, less anxious and suffered from less pain.
As an easy and inexpensive way to maintain pain, parents can massage their children as a way to both help their child and help themselves feel more in control of the disease. Although the study found that having to provide a nightly massage raised parents’ anxiety levels, parents said they would continue to massage their child and researchers felt their anxiety levels would drop over time, especially if they saw that their child was benefiting from regular massages.
I would imagine that massage would help children suffering from other conditions just as it did those with Sickle Cell Disease. And while it may not be the best solution for everyone, if it does help alleviate pain and stimulate the muscles, it can also help medication work better too by increasing circulation.