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Massage therapy for essential hypertension: a systematic review
X J Xiong1, S J Li2, Y Q Zhang3
1Department of Cardiology, Guang'anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
Journal of Human Hypertension
|July 4, 2014
Summary
Massage may help lower blood pressure in patients with essential hypertension (EH) when used alongside medications. However, more high-quality studies are needed to confirm its effectiveness and safety for EH management.
Area of Science:
- Integrative Medicine
- Cardiovascular Health
- Evidence-Based Practice
Background:
- Massage is a traditional Chinese therapy used for various symptoms in hypertensive patients.
- Its efficacy for essential hypertension (EH) remains uncertain despite numerous published studies.
- This review synthesizes current evidence on massage's role in managing EH.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the clinical evidence for massage as a therapy for essential hypertension (EH).
- To assess the effects of massage on blood pressure (BP) in patients with EH through meta-analysis.
Main Methods:
- Searched multiple databases for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published before December 10, 2013.
- Included RCTs comparing massage to control interventions or massage plus antihypertensive drugs versus drugs alone.
- Performed meta-analyses to determine the impact on systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP).
Main Results:
- Twenty-four trials involving 1962 patients with EH were analyzed.
- Most trials exhibited low methodological quality.
- Massage combined with antihypertensive drugs showed greater BP reduction than drugs alone (SBP: MD -6.92, DBP: MD -3.63).
- Massage alone also appeared beneficial for reducing SBP compared to antihypertensive drugs (MD -3.47).
Conclusions:
- Massage shows encouraging evidence for managing essential hypertension (EH), particularly when combined with antihypertensive drugs.
- The current evidence is limited by the poor methodological quality of most included trials.
- Further rigorously designed clinical trials are necessary to validate the therapeutic use of massage for EH.
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