Massage Therapy Journal Summer 2025

28 • Massage Therapy Journal

pediatric intensive care unit. The participants were divided into three groups comprising 33 receiving hand massage, 33 receiving music therapy and 33 in a control group. Results were measured using the Wong-Baker FACES Pain Rating Scale, Children’s Fear Scale (CFS) and blood cortisol levels. The study found that both the music therapy group and the hand massage group had lower CFS mean points by a significant level before and during the blood draw procedure compared to the control group. Researchers concluded hand massage and music therapy were more effective than standard care at reducing both pain and fear levels during blood drawing among 12–18 year old adolescents. Mean cortisol levels, however, did not show a significant difference among any of the groups. A third study 3 evaluated the objective and subjective impact of daily self-massage on visible signs of stress on facial skin as well as emotional well-being. The clinical study assessed visible signs of facial aging with an objective 10-point scale and a subjective skin and well-being assessment with an online self-questionnaire. The participants performed a three-minute self-massage routine at home that included

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for the parents of hospitalized extremely preterm infants. The stress of having a newborn in the NICU for an extended period can be very stressful for the parents of these preterm infants. Parent-administered infant massage is a well-established intervention for preterm infants that has been shown to have benefits for both the infants and the parents. Still, the majority of the published literature has mostly examined the impact via self-reported or observational measures of stress. This study sought to measure the reduction of stress via salivary cortisol, a biomarker for stress. The salivary cortisol of both the infants and the mothers in 22 participant pairs was measured via buccal swab immediately pre- and post-parent-administered massage to detect any potential changes in physiological stress. The study found a clinically significant decrease in maternal cortisol levels immediately post-parent-administered massage, indicating decreased physiological stress and suggesting that the act of administering the massage can help improve the mental and emotional well being of the mother. Another study 2 assessed the effect of music therapy and hand massage on pain, fear and stress among 12–18 year old adolescents in the

Reflexology

“I often also ask about mood changes during treatments, and most clients report a mood elevation of a 30–50% change or higher.” ―ARIEL F. HUBBARD, LMT

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