THAI MASSAGE
RESEARCH
Within the body of research out there in the field of massage, there are only a few Thai Massage specific articles. Even though we can largely extrapolate the benefits of regular massage treatments to include Thai massage treatments (from skilled practitioners), it is great to see some specific work being done to gain our particular practice more recognition.
One study in particular measured behavioural changes in Autistic children when given 2 Thai Massage treatments per week for 8 weeks. (Piravej et. al.)
This study compared Sensory Integration Therapy, which has been used in the past to some positive affect, with Thai Massage and Sensory Integration.
One practitioner was hired to deliver all massage treatments.
In the Thai Massage + Sensory Integration group, statistically significant improvements were found in parent-reported Anxiety.
Results also showed trending improvements (not statistically signifcant) in measures of
'Conduct Problem' and 'Hyperactivity' as
reported by
parents.
SUMMARY BY DREW HUME