Complementary Alternative Cardiovascular Medicine

Chapter 10 / Massage Therapy and CVD 155
Dr. Saul Schanberg conducted research using rats to support the use
of touch as therapy for enhancing growth. The effect of touch deprivation
was assessed by comparing the outcomes in rat pups that were taken
away from their mother with pups left with their mothers (controls).
Schanberg noted a decrease in growth hormone (GH) (ornithinedecarboxylase)
in all body organs, including the heart, liver, and
brain (cerebrum, cerebellum, and brainstem) in the pups that were
removed from their mothers (touch deprived). The values returned to
the normal range when the pups were given stimulation techniques that
replicated the mother’s behavior. Researchers mimicked the stimulation
by using a paintbrush dipped in water and briskly stroked all over, mimicking
their mother’s tongue. The data suggest that stimulation of pressure
receptors is critical for facilitating growth, and the researchers
postulated that an alteration in genetic expression, triggered by touch,
led to protein synthesis. Shanberg stated, “Maternal touch is not just a
nice thing for children to have; you damn well need it if you want them
to grow!” (10,11).
Mind–Body Connection
Tight contracted tissues are perceived by the massage therapist to
result from emotional stress turned inward and from physical insults and
trauma. Tissues are programmed to contract as a response to being irritated.
One of the main goals of massage is not to allow accumulation of
contracted or tight muscle tissue throughout the body. In theory, this
reduces spasm and prevents scar-like tissue accumulation. Thus, a patient
with episodes of pain over time, who treats the pain only with medication,
will suffer increasingly muscular and soft tissue levels of dysfunction.
Spinal Alignment
Observation of the influence of postural mechanics on function and
symptomatology have led to the hypothesis that posture moderates several
physiologic functions, including breathing, hormone production,
spinal pain, headache, mood, blood pressure, pulse, and lung capacity.
The most significant noted influences of posture are on respiration,
oxygenation, and sympathetic function. Massage therapy is, in part,
based on the belief that homeostasis and autonomic regulation are intimately
affected by posture (12). Tension to the spine causing postural
deviations is viewed as leading to degenerative changes. That may interfere
with the normal function of the central nervous system (CNS) leading
to maladaptive alteration in function and coordination of the systems
in the body. Massage is believed to sustain muscles at their normal
resting length, as opposed to a tight and constricted state. Additionally,