Is there an association between women's consultations with a massage therapist and health-related quality of life? Analyses of 1800 women aged 56-61 years.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is commonplace in Australia with massage being a popular CAM modality.

METHODS:

This is a sub-study from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health (ALSWH). A total of 2120 mid-age (56-61 year old) women who consulted a CAM practitioner were invited to participate in this study. The Short-Form (SF-36) questionnaire was used to measure women's health-related quality of life.

RESULTS:

A total of 1800 women returned the questionnaire generating a response rate of 85.0%. Overall, 912 (50.7%) women visited a massage therapist in the previous 12 months. Women with lower quality of life scores in terms of bodily pain (p = 0.012) and/or emotional health (p = 0.029) were more likely to consult a massage therapist than those with higher scores.

CONCLUSION:

The implications of these associations are important for informing healthcare providers in providing effective and coordinated care for patients with pain and mood symptoms.

• Authors: Jane Frawley, Wenbo Peng, David Sibbritt, Lesley Ward, Romy Lauche, Yan Zhang, Jon Adams
• Journal: Journal of bodywork and movement therapies (J Bodyw Mov Ther) Vol. 20 Issue 4 Pg. 734-739 (Oct 2016) ISSN: 1532-9283 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 27814852 (Publication Type: Journal Article)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Topics

• Australia
• Complementary Therapies (methods, psychology)
• Cross-Sectional Studies
• Female
• Health Status
• Humans
• Interpersonal Relations
• Longitudinal Studies
• Massage (psychology)
• Mental Health
• Middle Aged
• Pain Management (methods, psychology)
• Quality of Life (psychology)
• Socioeconomic Factors
• Women's Health