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Mechanical Massage Works for Fibromyalgia

A small study of women with fibromyalgia using mechanical massage was done at Ohio State University. Full body massage was carried out on 10 patients once a week for 15 weeks. A special medical device called Cellu M6 was used to draw a skinfold between two motorized rollers. The fold was rolled and unrolled. Treatment was applied to the entire body.

Improvement was measured using pain, physical function, and the number of tender points before and after treatment. A diagnosis of fibromyalgia is often based on the presence of tender points in 18 areas of the body. The presence of 11 out of the 18 tender points is a positive diagnosis.

Almost all of the patients thought the treatment was very helpful. They wanted to continue the mechanical massage. Some were able to reduce their use of drugs for pain. Pain and tender points decreased by 50 percent.

The authors conclude the results of using this type of mechanical massage was positive enough to take it the next step. They plan to repeat the study on a larger number of patients next.

References: Chrisanne Gordon, MD et al. Use of a Mechanical Massage Technique in the Treatment of Fibromyalgia: A Preliminary Study. In Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. January 2006. Vol. 87. No. 1. Pp. 145-147.

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