Study: Massage beats meds for lower back pain
Massage therapy may be better than medication or exercise for easing low back pain in the short term, a new government-funded study suggests.
Seattle researchers recruited 401 patients, mostly middle-aged, female and white, all of whom had chronic low back pain.
Those who received a series of either relaxation massage or structural massage were better able to work and be active for up to a year than those getting “usual medical care,” which included painkillers, anti-inflammatory drugs, muscle relaxants or physical therapy, the researchers found.