Massage therapy is an effective alternative treatment for chronic lower back pain, and may be superior to other treatments, such as acupuncture, according to a report.

In the study, back pain patients given massage therapy had less disability and fewer symptoms after 10 weeks than those given traditional Chinese acupuncture or a book and videotapes on managing back pain.

A year later, those given massage therapy felt about the same as those given the book and videotapes, and they had fewer symptoms and disability than acupuncture-treated patients.

The study included 260 men and women aged 20 to 70 who were still in pain after being treated by their primary care doctor for back problems. The study excluded people with serious back problems such as sciatica, fractures or problems requiring the attention of a specialist.

"The massage group used the least medications and had the lowest costs of subsequent care," according to a report in April 23rd issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

"This study kind of puts massage on the map as an alternative therapy for back pain--because massage was actually beneficial in improving function and lessening back pain for patients," said senior investigator Dr. Daniel C. Cherkin, acting director at the Center for Health Studies at the Group Health Cooperative in Seattle.

In the study, the patients received 10 treatments over a 10-week period. The most common techniques included Swedish, movement reeducation and deep tissue massage. The massage therapists often recommended stretching or other exercises and also taught their clients to be more aware of their bodies and to be attuned to early signs of injury.

Almost 75% of the patients rated the massage therapy as very helpful and 46% of patients found acupuncture to be very helpful. In the third group, only 17% found the book and 26% found the videotapes to be very helpful.

No particular type of patient seemed to benefit more from massage than another, Cherkin said.

From ReutersHealth