Massage therapy is also effective at helping patients reduce stress and anxiety, which experts believe accounts for 80-90% of disease. Massage therapists typically use their hands and fingers to press, rub and manipulate your skin, muscles, tendons and ligaments. Some therapists may also use their forearms, elbows and even feet. Massage may range from light stroking to deep pressure techniques.

Massage therapy and chiropractic treatments have been used to successfully treat conditions such as back pain, osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia. “…moderate pressure to muscles and soft tissues stimulates a cascade of biological effects,” explains Tiffany Field, PhD, director of the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami School of Medicine. Field says, “We are finding that moderate pressure is essential for any of the effects we see from massage.”