Background/Objective: Massage therapy has moderate empirical support for enhancing immunological functioning. This study examined the effects of massage on 144 inner-city HIV/AIDS-positive men/women. It was hypothesized that adults electing massage would have greater improvement in immune functioning compared to adults declining massage. This study has Temple IRB approval. Methods: 48 HIV/AIDS-positive adults who elected to receive one or more massage sessions from the licensed massage therapist at Congreso were compared to 96 sex-matched HIV/AIDS-positive adults who declined massage over one year. Pre/Post massage CD4+ counts were measured as proxies for immune functioning. Mean immune functioning change was compared between the massage and control group to identify differences Pre/Post the massage/control window and within the massage group to test for dose-dependent effects. Results: No significant differences in age, education, race/ethnicity, language, income, mental health or substance-abuse history were found between the massage and control group. The massage group had lower immune functioning at baseline (394.5±279.7) compared to control group (467.3±283.8); however, this 16.9% difference in baseline mean CD4+ counts between the two groups was non-significant (p=0.23). ANOVA analyses found no difference in CD4+ change (Post-Pre) between the groups (p=0.70). Further ANCOVA analyses found the effects of massage on mean CD4+ counts non-significant after adjusting for baseline differences (p=0.75). However, the trends were in the hypothesized direction with an increase of 36.9 (±148.6) in CD4+ counts for the massage group compared to an increase of 22.5 (±183.4) in the control group. The presence of a dose-dependent effect within the massage group was also non-significant (p=0.95). Pre/Post differences among subjects who received only one massage were found significant (p=0.04), but not for subjects receiving more than one massage (p=0.51). Conclusion: These trends highlight that massage therapy effects may be an important non-pharmacological modality to complement standard-of-care to improve or sustain immune functioning. / Epidemiology
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:TEMPLE/oai:scholarshare.temple.edu:20.500.12613/1335 |
| Date | January 2011 |
| Creators | Grant, April C. |
| Contributors | Nelson, Deborah B., Komaroff, Eugene, Bass, Sarah Bauerle |
| Publisher | Temple University. Libraries |
| Source Sets | Temple University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation, Text |
| Format | 64 pages |
| Rights | IN COPYRIGHT- This Rights Statement can be used for an Item that is in copyright. Using this statement implies that the organization making this Item available has determined that the Item is in copyright and either is the rights-holder, has obtained permission from the rights-holder(s) to make their Work(s) available, or makes the Item available under an exception or limitation to copyright (including Fair Use) that entitles it to make the Item available., http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
| Relation | http://dx.doi.org/10.34944/dspace/1317, Theses and Dissertations |
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