Our goal is to provide a framework that describes our current understanding of the mechanisms whereby massage therapy activates potentially beneficial immunomodulatory pathways
2014
Key concepts
- interleukin
- macrophages
- immune cell
- inflammatory response
- interleukin 6
- interleukin 10
- massage therapy
- neutrophils
- inflammatory process
- selectin
- skeletal muscle
- afferent nerves
- interleukin 13
- mechanotransduction
- nociception
- sensitization
- Complementary and alternative medicine
- inflammation
- interleukin 4
Scholarcy highlights
- Complementary and alternative medicine, sometimes referred to as complementary integrative medicine, is steadily gaining popularity
- Our goal is to provide a framework that describes our current understanding of the mechanisms whereby massage therapy activates potentially beneficial immunomodulatory pathways
- Previous investigations regarding the efficacy of massage have been highly variable and inconclusive, most likely due to a lack of randomized control trials and inherent challenges associated with investigating the effects of massage, such as inconsistent modes of massage application, applied forces, and duration of reported massage application
- Beginning with an overview of the inflammatory response, readers will gain an in-depth understanding of immune-cell function and how endogenous chemicals released in this process affect pain transmission through the sensitization of afferent nerve fibers
- Macrophages that engulf apoptotic neutrophils prevent the release of neutrophil cytotoxic chemicals, ceasing respiratory burst and increasing the secretion of transforming growth factor b and interleukin 4.15,56 The release of transforming growth factor b and interleukin 4 results in decreased release of proinflammatory cytokines and promotes a transition to the T helper 2 cytokine pathway
- Further mechanistic investigations of massage are critical to establish a better understanding of its beneficial immunomodulatory effects
- Identifying specific signaling pathways that massage affects will provide insight into the proper clinical application through the creation of an advantageous inflammatory environment to promote repair
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