Massage therapy is a form of manual therapy that involves moving soft tissues in the body to reduce stress, ease muscle tension, and promote relaxation and overall well-being. It is a hands-on technique performed by trained massage therapists.

Many types of massage offer benefits beyond simple relaxation. Here are just a few of the health problems that may benefit from massage. However, ask your doctor before using massage for any health condition.

-Sleep
-Immune function
-Constipation
-Anxiety
-Digestive disorders
-Nerve pain
-Postoperative care
-Scar tissue
-Soft tissue strains and injuries
-Sports injuries
-Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders
-Back pain. More than one study has shown the effectiveness of massage therapy for back pain.
-Headache. Another type of pain, headache, also responds to massage therapy. Some studies suggest that massage therapy can improve sleep and reduce the number of migraines a person has.
-Osteoarthritis. In the first clinical trial looking at the effectiveness of Swedish massage for kneeosteoarthritis, participants who received a one-hour massage either one or two times a week had improvements in pain, stiffness, and function. The control group had no such change.
-Fibromyalgia. Studies show that over a course of 5 weeks, massage therapy can improve symptoms such as pain, anxiety, and depression.
-Depression. A review of 17 clinical trials found that massage therapy may help reduce depression.