A meta analysis of blood pressure studies was recently published, with excellent news for patients with this condition. In an exciting summary of results, they found that massage therapy in and of itself lowered blood pressure (systolic). Massage also had the added benefit of helping blood pressure medications to work better.
This is great news for people whose blood pressure is not under control even with medications, since massage has no known side effects. Hypertension medications have a host of unpleasant side effects that many patients wish to avoid. However, even if you are on medication and want to continue it, you can benefit from adding massage to your routine.
Knowing that massage therapy has these benefits can help you to justify the cost of adding it to your routine.
The article was published in Body Sense magazine about the study that was published in the Journal of Human Hypertension.