Aim: The aim is to create a review that examines different forms of massage therapy and their effects on hypertension. Method: Literature review of 10 scientific articles on the subject of massage and its effects on blood pressure. The literature searches were made with PubMed and Cinahl using the keywords "massage therapy", "effects" and "blood pressure". Results: The articles showed that massage had a positive effect in lowering blood pressure. This could be explained by greater extent of relaxation in the participants investigated and an increased activity of parasympaticus and reduced secretion of stress hormones. The articles do not agree on what form of massage therapy is most effective in lowering blood pressure and it is uncertain for how long the effect can remain. Conclusion: Massage is usually seen as a treatment without scientific basis. There is evidence that suggests that massage therapy is an effective treatment for lowering blood pressure. The articles show that different forms of massage effect blood pressure in various ways. However, a larger randomized controlled trial is needed to determine whether massage therapy can be used as a complement to medical treatment for hypertension and what form of massage is the most effective.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:uu-174953 |
| Date | January 2012 |
| Creators | Johansson, Anna, Leopoldson, Carolina |
| Publisher | Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för folkhälso- och vårdvetenskap, Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för folkhälso- och vårdvetenskap |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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