Massage Therapy and Mental Health

A COVID-19 Post

It's been a little over 1 year since the first COVID-19 lockdown in Ontario, and here we are in another lockdown and stay at home order. In the news there have been increasing use of 'mental health' regarding reasons to go outside, get some exercise, socialize, etc. Here's a recent CTV article reporting on the mental health state of teachers and students in Simcoe Muskoka as the schools have gone 100% virtual learning, again. In the article, there is a link to the Simcoe Muskoka School Board's mental health page where it is some support tools for student, teacher, and staff.

It is interesting to notice that Massage Therapy is not listed in the article nor on the school board's page.

There's an increasing amount of research being done into mental health and massage therapy. This 2018 review suggested that psychiatrists and massage therapists should work together to maximize outcomes. This 2005 article suggested that complimentary therapies, which massage therapy is generally included in that category, would do well if integrated into community mental health practices.

It's not accurate to say that massage therapy is a 'treatment option' for mental health disorders. Instead it is more correct to say that massage therapy is an effective and often sought after coping or management mechanism. It is with that reasoning that it would be reasonable to suggest that massage therapy would be helpful to many of the students, parents, teachers, and admin staff that are all struggling to be at their best.