Applied kinesiology for treatment of women with mastalgia

To determine whether an applied kinesiology technique was of benefit to women with breast pain, an open pilot study was conducted in which 88 newly presenting women with self-rated moderate or severe mastalgia were treated by applied kinesiology. This involved a hands-on technique consisting of rubbing a series of 'lymphatic reflex points' while touching painful areas of the breasts. The women were predominantly pre-menopausal, and patients with both cyclical and non-cyclical pain were included in the study. Patients' self-rated pain scores, both before and immediately after applied kinesiology were compared, together with a further score 2 months later. Immediately after treatment there was considerable reduction in breast pain in 60% of patients with complete resolution in 18%. At the visit after 2 months, there was a reduction in severity, duration and frequency of pain of 50% or more in about 60% of cases (P<0.0001). This preliminary study suggests that applied kinesiology may be an effective treatment for mastalgia, without side-effects and merits testing against standard drug therapies.