Research at TRI
CHILD MASSAGE
ADHD
Hernandez-Reif, M., Field, T. &
Thimas, E. (2001). Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: benefits from Tai
Chi. Journal of Bodywork and Movement
Therapies, 5, 120-123.
•Thirteen
adolescents with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) participated
in Tai Chi classes twice a week for 5 weeks. Teachers rated the children's
behaviour on the Conners Scale during the baseline period, after the 5 week Tai
Chi session period and 2 weeks later. After the 10 Tai Chi sessions the adolescents
displayed less anxiety, improved conduct, less daydreaming behaviours, less
inappropriate emotions, and less hyperactivity. These improved scores persisted
over the 2-week follow up (no Tai Chi period).
Anxiety
Field, T., Morrow, C., Valdeon, C.,
Larson, S., Kuhn, C., & Schanberg, S., (1992). Massage reduces anxiety in
child and adolescent psychiatric patients. Journal
of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 31, 125-131.
•Compared
with a control group who viewed relaxing videotapes, the massaged subjects were
less depressed and anxious and had lower saliva cortisol levels after the
massage. In addition, nighttime sleep increased for both groups over the study
period and urinary cortisol and norepinephrine levels decreased, but only for
depressed patients.
Platania Solazzo, A., Field, T., Blank,
J., Seligman, F., Kuhn, C., Schanberg, S., & Saab, P. (1992). Relaxation
therapy reduces anxiety in child and adolescent psychiatric patients. Acta Paedopsychiatrica, 55, 115-120.
•Two
groups were formed for the study; the control group watched a one hour relaxing
videotape, while the treatment group participated in a one hour class
consisting of yoga exercise, a brief massage, and progressive muscle
relaxation. Decreases were noted in both self-reported anxiety and anxious
behavior and fidgeting as well as increases in positive affect in the
relaxation therapy, but not the videotape group. Cortisol decreased following
both relaxation therapies.
Arthritis
Field, T., Hernandez-Reif, M., Seligman,
S., Krasnegor, J., Sunshine, W., Rivas-Chacon, R. Schanberg, S., & Kuhn, C.
(1997). Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis: Benefits from massage therapy. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 22,
607-617.
•Children
with mild to moderate juvenile rheumatoid arthritis were massaged by their
parents 15 minutes a day for 30 days (and a control group engaged in relaxation
therapy). The children's anxiety and cortisol levels were immediately decreased
by the massage, and over the 30-day period their pain decreased on
self-reports, parent reports, and their physician’s assessment of pain (both
the incidence and severity) and pain-limiting activities.
Asthma
Field, T., Henteleff, T, Hernandez-Reif,
M., Martinez, E., Mavunda, K., Kuhn, C., & Schanberg, S. (1998). Children
with asthma have improved pulmonary function after massage therapy. Journal of Pediatrics, 132, 854-858.
•Thirty-two
children with asthma were randomly assigned to receive either massage therapy
or relaxation therapy. The children’s parents were taught to provide one
therapy or the other for 20 minutes before bedtime each night for 30 days. The
younger children who received massage therapy showed an immediate decrease in
behavioral anxiety and cortisol levels after massage. Also, their attitude
toward asthma and their peak air flow and all other pulmonary functions
improved over the course of the study. The older children who received massage
therapy reported lower anxiety after the massage. Their attitude toward asthma
also improved over the study, but only one measure of pulmonary function
(forced expiratory flow 25% to 75%) improved. The reason for the smaller
therapeutic benefit in the older children is unknown; however, it appears that
daily massage improves airway caliber and control of asthma.
Autism
Escalona, A., Field, T., Singer-Strunk,
R., Cullen, C., & Hartshorn, K. (2001). Brief report: Improvements in the
behavior of children with autism following massage therapy. Journal of Autism and Developmental
Disorders, 31, 513-516.
•Twenty
children with autism, ages 3 to 6 years, were randomly assigned to massage
therapy and reading attention control groups. Parents in the massage therapy
group were trained by a massage therapist to massage their children for 15
minutes prior to bedtime every night for 1 month and the parents of the
attention control group read Dr. Seuss stories to their children on the same
time schedule. Conners Teacher and Parent scales, classroom and playground
observations, and sleep diaries were used to assess the effects of therapy on
various behaviors, including hyperactivity, stereotypical and off-task
behavior, and sleep problems. The children in the massage group exhibited less
stereotypic behavior and showed more on-task and social relatedness behavior
during play observations at school, and they experienced fewer sleep problems
at home.
Field, T., Lasko, D., Mundy, P. &
Henteleff, T., Kabot, S., Talpins, S. & Dowling, M. (1997). Brief report:
Autistic children's attentiveness and responsivity improved after touch
therapy. Journal of Autism &
Developmental Disorders, 27, 333-338.
•22
autistic preschool children who had attended a special preschool half days for
2 years were assigned to 2 groups, touch therapy and a touch control group.
Touch aversion decreased in both the touch therapy and the touch control
groups, off-task behavior decreased in both groups, orienting to irrelevant
sounds decreased in both groups, but significantly more in the touch therapy
group.
Bulimic
Field, T., Schanberg, S., Kuhn, C.,
Fierro, K., Henteleff, T., Mueller, C., Yando, R., & Burman, I. (1998). Bulimic adolescents benefit from massage
therapy. Adolescence, 33, 555-563.
•Twenty-four
female adolescent bulimic inpatients were randomly assigned to massage therapy
a standard treatment control group. The massaged patients showed immediate
reductions (both self-report and behavior observation) in anxiety and
depression. In addition, by the last day of the therapy, they had lower
depression scores, lower cortisol levels, higher dopamine levels, and they
showed improvement on several other psychological and behavioral measures.
Cerebral
Palsy
Hernandez-Reif, M., Field, T., Largie,
S., Diego, M., Manigat, N., Seoanes, M., & Bornstein, J. (2005). Cerebral
palsy symptoms in children decreased following massage therapy. Early Child Development and Care, 175,
445-456.
•Twenty
young children with cerebral palsy recruited from early intervention programs
received 30 minutes of massage or reading twice weekly for 12 weeks. The
children receiving massage therapy showed fewer physical symptoms including
reduced spasticity, less rigid muscle tone overall and in the arms, and
improved fine and gross motor functioning. In addition, the massage group had
improved cognition, social and dressing scores on the Developmental Profile,
and they showed more positive facial expressions and less limb activity during
face-to-face play interactions.
Cognitive
Hart, S., Field, T., Hernandez-Reif, M.,
& Lundy, B. (1998). Preschoolers’ cognitive performance improves following
massage. Early Child Development &
Care, 143, 59-64.
•Preschoolers
were given WPPSI subtests, including Block Design, Animal Pegs and Mazes,
before and after receiving a 15-minute massage or spending stories with an
experimenter. Results revealed that Performance on the Block Design improved
following massage, and accuracy was greater on Animal Pegs in the massage
group, particularly in more temperamental children.
Depressed
Jones, N.A., & Field, T. (1999).
Massage and music therapies attenuate frontal EEG asymmetry in depressed
adolescents. Adolescence, 34,
529-534.
•EEG
asymmetry, specifically (greater relative right frontal activation,) is associated
with negative affect. Depressed adults show stable patterns of this asymmetry.
The present study assessed the effects of massage therapy and music therapy on
frontal EEG asymmetry in depressed adolescents. Thirty adolescents with greater
relative right frontal EEG activation and symptoms of depression were given
either massage therapy or music therapy. EEG was recorded for three-minute
periods before, during, and after therapy. Frontal EEG asymmetry was
significantly attenuated during and after the massage and music sessions.
Dermatitis
Schachner, L., Field, T.,
Hernandez-Reif, M., Duarte, A.M., & Krasnegor, J. (1998). Atopic dermatitis
symptoms decreased in children following massage therapy. Pediatric Dermatology, 15, 390-395.
•Young
children with atopic dermatitis were treated with standard topical care and
massage by their parents for 20 minutes daily for a 1 month period. A control
group received standard topical care only. The children's affect and activity
level significantly improved, and their parent's anxiety decreased immediately
after the massage therapy sessions. Over the 1 month period, parents of
massaged children reported lower anxiety levels in their children, and the
children improved significantly on all clinical measures including redness,
scaling, lichenification, excoriation, and pruritus. The control group only
improved significantly on the scaling measure.
Diabetes
Field, T., Hernandez-Reif, M., LaGreca,
A., Shaw, K., Schanberg, S., & Kuhn, C. (1997). Massage therapy lowers blood
glucose levels in children with diabetes. Diabetes
Spectrum, 10, 237-239.
•Children
with diabetes were randomly assigned to a massage therapy or relaxation therapy
group. The children’s parents were taught one or the other therapy. The
immediate effects of the massage therapy were decreased parental anxiety and
depressed mood, depressed child anxiety, fidgeting and depressed affect. Over
the 30-day period, compliance with insulin and food regulation improved and
mean blood glucose levels decreased.
Down
Syndrome
Hernandez-Reif, M., Field, T., Largie,
S., Diego, M., Mora, D. & Bornstein, J. (2006). Children with Down Syndrome
improved in motor function and muscle tone following massage therapy. Early Child Development and Care, 176,
395-410.
•Twenty-one
moderate to high functioning young children with Down syndrome receiving early
intervention (physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy) were
randomly assigned to also receive two 30-min massage therapy or reading
sessions (control group) per week for two months. On the first and last day of
the study, the children’s functioning levels were assessed using the
Developmental Programming for Infants and Young Children scale, and muscle tone
was assessed using a new preliminary scale (the Arms, Legs and Trunk Muscle
Tone Score). Children in the massage therapy group revealed greater gains in
fine and gross motor functioning and less severe limb hypotonicity when
compared with the children in the reading/control group.
HIV
Diego, M.A., Hernandez-Reif, M., Field,
T., Friedman, L. & Shaw, K. (2001). HIV adolescents show improved immune
function following massage therapy. International
Journal of Neuroscience, 106, 35-45.
•HIV+
adolescents recruited from a large urban university hospital's outpatient
clinic were randomly assigned to receive massage therapy or progressive muscle
relaxation two-times per week for 12 weeks. To assess treatment effects,
participants were assessed for depression, anxiety and immune changes before and
after the 12 weeks treatment period. Adolescents who received massage therapy
versus those who experienced relaxation therapy reported feeling less anxious
and they were less depressed, and showed enhanced immune function by the end of
the 12 week study. Immune changes included increased Natural Killer cell
number. In addition, the HIV disease progression markers (CD4/CD8 ratio and CD4
number) showed an increase for the massage therapy group only.
Leukemia
Field, T., Cullen, C., Diego, M.,
Hernandez-Reif, M., Sprinz, P., Beebe, K., Kissel, B. & Bango-Sanchez, V.
(2001). Leukemia immune changes following massage therapy. Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, 3, 1-5.
•Twenty
children with leukemia were provided daily massage therapy by their parents and
were compared to a standard treatment control group. Following a month of
massage therapy, depressed mood decreased in the children's parents, and the
children's white blood cell and neutrophil counts increased.
Posttraumatic
Stress Disorder
Field, T., Seligman, S., Scafidi, F.
& Schanberg, S. (1996). Alleviating posttraumatic stress in children
following Hurricane Andrew. Journal of
Applied Developmental Psychology, 17, 37-50.
•As compared to a video
attention control group, the children who received massage therapy reported
being happier and less anxious and had lower cortisol levels after therapy.
Reviews
Field,
T. (1995). Massage therapy for infants and children. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 16, 105-111.
•Data
are reviewed on the effects of message therapy on infants and children with
various medical conditions. The infants include: premature infants,
cocaine-exposed infants, HIV-exposed infants, infants parented by depressed
mothers, and full term infants without medical problems. The childhood
conditions include: abuse (sexual and physical), asthma, autism, bulimia,
burns, cancer, dermatitis, developmental delays, diabetes, juvenile rheumatoid
arthritis, posttraumatic stress disorder, and psychiatric problems. Generally,
the massage therapy resulted in lower anxiety and stress hormones and improved
clinical course. Having grandparent volunteers and parents give the therapy
enhanced their own wellness and provided a cost-effective treatment for the
children.
Field, T. (1998). Touch therapy effects
on development. International Journal of
Behavioral Development, 22, 779-797.
•In
this review empirical data are presented on the use of touch therapy,
specifically massage therapy for improving the clinical course of several
conditions including growth and development of preterm infants, reducing pain,
increasing attentiveness, diminishing depression, and enhancing immune
function. Potential underlying mechanisms for the massage therapy effects are
proposed for each of these conditions. The general effects appear to derive
from the stimulation of pressure receptors and the ensuing increase in vagal
activity and slowing physiology which in turn facilitates a more relaxed
behavioural state, decreases cortisol, and increases immune function,
particularly natural killer cells.
Sleep
Field, T., Kilmer, T., Hernandez-Reif,
M., & Burman, I. (1996). Preschool children’s sleep and wake behavior:
Effects of massage therapy. Early Child
Development and Care, 120, 39-44.
•The
massaged children as compared to children in the wait-list control group had
better behavior ratings on state, vocalization, activity, and cooperation after
the massage sessions on the first and last days of the study. Also, the
massaged children had a shorter latency to naptime sleep by the end of the
study.