Complementary Medicine, Peninsula Medical School, Universities of Exeter and Plymouth, 25 Victoria Park Road, Exeter EX2 4NT, UK, edzard.ernst@pms.ac.uk
The aim of this article is to evaluate trends in the development of the evidence-base for the effectiveness of massage therapy. For this purpose, a comparison of two systematic reviews was conducted. The first related to the evidence-base in 2000, the second to 2005. Both employed the same methodology and criteria for evaluation. The results indicate that, in several areas, the evidence has become more solid and, for anxiety and back pain, it has become more positive. For a host of other indications, the evidence seems encouraging, but more studies are required to test the effectiveness of massage therapy as well as its use for specific conditions.
Key Words: massage • systematic reviews • effectiveness
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