Massage Therapy: An Alternative To Drugs For Back Pain Relief

Massage Therapy as Effective as Drugs for Back Pain, Studies Show

The term ''alternative therapy'' generally is used to describe any medical treatment or intervention that is used in place of conventional medicine. A recent study has proven that massage therapy can be a great alternative to the standard drug treatment.   

“Recently a study of 401 back pain patients demonstrated that massage works as well as the standard treatment for back pain - acetaminophen or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and physical therapy,” writes Alison Walsh, a massage therapy expert and contributing writer for spine-health.com.

Massage Therapy: A Proven Superior Treatment for Back Pain

Walsh writes that, interestingly, at 10 weeks and again at 6 months, the patients receiving massage therapy reported less pain and greater ability to perform daily activities than the patients on standard therapy. “The type of massage made no difference,” she writes, adding, “In other words, massage worked sooner than standard therapy to relieve back pain and to get people back to their normal daily activities.”