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. Issue 4 (October 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Frawley, Jane; Peng, Wenbo; Sibbritt, David; Ward, Lesley; Lauche, Romy; Zhang, Yan; Adams, Jon
• Is Part Of: Journal of bodywork and movement therapies. Volume 20:Issue 4(2016:Oct.)
• Page Start: 734
• Page End: 739
• Publication Date: 2016-10
• Subjects: Manual therapies -- Massage -- Quality of life -- Complementary medicine -- SF-36; Massage -- Periodicals; Exercise therapy -- Periodicals; Manipulation (Therapeutics) -- Periodicals; Electronic journals; 615.82
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jbmt.2016.04.008
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1360-8592

Abstract

Summary: 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.