Moderate Pressure Massage Elicits a Parasympathetic Nervous System Response

Twenty healthy adults were randomly assigned to a moderate pressure or a light pressure massage therapy group, and EKGs were recorded during a 3-min baseline, during the 15-min massage period and during a 3-min postmassage period. EKG data were then used to derive the high frequency (HF), low freque...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of neuroscience 2009, Vol.119 (5), p.630-638
Main Authors: Diego, Miguel A., Field, Tiffany
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Analysis of Variance
Electrocardiography
Female
Heart Rate - physiology
heart rate variability
Humans
Male
Massage
massage therapy
mechanism
parasympathetic
Parasympathetic Nervous System - physiology
Pressure
relaxation
Surveys and Questionnaires
Touch Perception
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Summary:Twenty healthy adults were randomly assigned to a moderate pressure or a light pressure massage therapy group, and EKGs were recorded during a 3-min baseline, during the 15-min massage period and during a 3-min postmassage period. EKG data were then used to derive the high frequency (HF), low frequency (LF) components of heart rate variability and the low to high frequency ratio (LF/HF) as noninvasive markers of autonomic nervous system activity. The participants who received the moderate pressure massage exhibited a parasympathetic nervous system response characterized by an increase in HF, suggesting increased vagal efferent activity and a decrease in the LF/HF ratio, suggesting a shift from sympathetic to parasympathetic activity that peaked during the first half of the massage period. On the other hand, those who received the light pressure massage exhibited a sympathetic nervous system response characterized by decreased HF and increased LF/HF.
ISSN:0020-7454
1563-5279
1543-5245
DOI:10.1080/00207450802329605