Sports Massage, College Students and the Benefits of Massage Therapy for Mental Health
Adapted from an AMTA article freely given to AMTA members 9/3/2022
Researchers asked this question: Would massage therapy after intermittent exercise improve the physical and mental health of college students?
The study. This experimental study used a mixed research method to analyze the current status of sports performance and body composition of volunteer participants who agreed to answer a questionnaire designed to assess physical and mental health.
Data were analyzed using SPSS 26.0 software for statistical analysis, including t-test and ANOVA. Participants were interviewed about the results, and results were explored by multivariate analysis.
The results. Study results showed that exercise was helpful in improving physical and mental health. When combined with sports massage, the benefits of intermittent exercise were further enhanced, including sports-specific performance, like sit-ups and standing long jump, as well as physiological markers like blood pressure and BMI. Researchers also found that self-confidence increased and suicidal tendencies decreased within the intermittent exercise and sports massage group.
Reference
Shen CC, Tseng Y, Shen MC, Lin HH. “Effects of sports massage on physiological and mental health of college students participating in a 7-week intermittent exercises program.” Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 May10;18(9):5013.
