Abstract:
Massage therapy, now considered a complementary therapy has seen growing interest and
popularity in both research and use by the general population. Firstly, this thesis aimed to
extend the research investigating the beneficial effects of massage therapy by developing
and assessing an integrative model of massage effects on stress, coping, and physiological
processes by using Leventhal’s Common Sense Model (CSM) of the self-regulation of
behaviour. Secondly, this thesis aimed to investigate the duration of massage effects by
including assessment periods past the last day of intervention and measures of coping
efficacy and perceived stress. The first study investigated the effects of massage therapy
(compared to a television activity) on perceived stress, coping efficacy, sleep, and health
variables in students leading up to final examinations. Results revealed that massage was
more effective than the television activity in reducing perceived stress and improving
coping efficacy. The second study extended the first study by investigating the effects of
massage (compared to a daily diary control group) for migraine sufferers, as migraine is
exacerbated by stress and a stressful condition to manage. Results revealed that the
massage group exhibited a reduction in migraine frequency, fatigue, and improved sleep
quality, compared to the daily diary control group. The integrated CSM was further
extended in the second study to investigate how the physiological processes of migraine
may interact with migraine mechanisms. In both studies, the massage group revealed a
significant decrease in immediate measures of heart rate and state anxiety from pre- to
post-massage. The migraine massage group also exhibited decreases in salivary cortisol
from pre-to post-massage. The findings are consistent with the integrated CSM of massage
and self-regulation of behaviour, highlighting that massage can be a useful emotional
regulation strategy through its influence on perceived stress, coping efficacy, and
physiological processes. Immediate massage effects revealed reductions in state anxiety,
and other physiological stress processes (heart rate and cortisol), and these changes may
lead to alterations in cognitive appraisals of stressors, thus impacting on coping efficacy.
Given the potential benefits identified in these two studies as well as previous massage
research, an anonymous survey was conducted with general practitioners (GPs) and
patients in the Auckland area to explore their attitudes, beliefs, and use of massage therapy
and other complementary therapies. Results revealed that GPs regularly recommend
patients see a massage therapist, and the majority of patients reported using massage in the
previous year, most commonly for stress and musculoskeletal problems. The majority of
GPs would like to see regulatory standards implemented for complementary medicine.