Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013:2013:613279.
doi: 10.1155/2013/613279. Epub 2013 Feb 28.

Massage therapy for neck and shoulder pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Ling Jun Kong  1 , Hong Sheng Zhan, Ying Wu Cheng, Wei An Yuan, Bo Chen, Min Fang
Affiliations

Massage therapy for neck and shoulder pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Ling Jun Kong et al. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2013.

Abstract

Objective. To evaluate the effectiveness of massage therapy (MT) for neck and shoulder pain. Methods. Seven English and Chinese databases were searched until December 2011 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of MT for neck and shoulder pain. The methodological quality of RCTs was assessed based on PEDro scale. The meta-analyses of MT for neck and shoulder pain were performed. Results. Twelve high-quality studies were included. In immediate effects, the meta-analyses showed significant effects of MT for neck pain (standardised mean difference, SMD, 1.79; 95% confidence intervals, CI, 1.01 to 2.57; P < 0.00001) and shoulder pain (SMD, 1.50; 95% CI, 0.55 to 2.45; P = 0.002) versus inactive therapies. And MT showed short-term effects for shoulder pain (SMD, 1.51; 95% CI, 0.53 to 2.49; P = 0.003). But MT did not show better effects for neck pain (SMD, 0.13; 95% CI, -0.38 to 0.63; P = 0.63) or shoulder pain (SMD, 0.88; 95% CI, -0.74 to 2.51; P = 0.29) than active therapies. In addition, functional status of the shoulder was not significantly affected by MT. Conclusion. MT may provide immediate effects for neck and shoulder pain. However, MT does not show better effects on pain than other active therapies. No evidence suggests that MT is effective in functional status.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Study selection process. RCTs: randomized controlled trials.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Forest plot of the immediate effect of massage therapy for (a) neck pain and (b) shoulder pain.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Forest plot of the followup effect of massage therapy for neck and shoulder pain.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Forest plot of the effect of massage therapy in improving functional status related to shoulder pain.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Imanura M, Furlan AD, Dryden T, Irvin EL. Massage therapy. In: Dagenais S, Haldeman S, editors. Evidence-Based Management of Low Back Pain. St. Louis, Mo, USA: Elsevier; 2012. pp. 216–228.
    1. Tugwell P. Philadelphia panel evidence-based clinical practice guidelines on selected rehabilitation interventions for shoulder pain. Physical Therapy. 2001;81(10):1719–1730. - PubMed
    1. Ezzo J, Haraldsson BG, Gross AR, et al. Massage for mechanical neck disorders: a systematic review. Spine. 2007;32(3):353–362. - PubMed
    1. Vernon H, Humphreys K, Hagino C. Chronic mechanical neck pain in adults treated by manual therapy: a systematic review of change scores in randomized clinical trials. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics. 2007;30(3):215–227. - PubMed
    1. Tsao JCI. Effectiveness of massage therapy for chronic, non-malignant pain: a review. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 2007;4(2):165–179. - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources