Impact of classic massage on blood pressure in patients with clinically diagnosed hypertension

OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of classic massage on the changes in the values of blood pressure in women with previously diagnosed hypertension. METHODS: The study involved a group of ten women aged 60-68, who had previously been diagnosed with hypertension. Ten sessions of classic massage of the lower limbs were performed on the subjects. The massage sessions were conducted every day over ten consecutive days. Throughout the treatment, the subjects' blood pressure was measured using a manometer with a stethoscope TRO - CARDIO KIT 2 MONO. Their blood pressure was taken 1 min before the massage, as well as 1 min and 5 min after each session. The study took place between March and June 2013 in Szpital Specjalistyczny im. Jedrzeja Sniadeckiego (Jedrzej Sniadecki Specialist Hospital) in Nowy Sacz, at the Department of Internal Diseases. RESULTS: For ten consecutive days, the blood pressure values in the examined women were decreasing, with the exception of the diastolic blood pressure measured 5 min after the massage. CONCLUSION: The drops in blood pressure by several percent, noted in the majority of the female subjects over the time of the study. Classic massage might provide a safe supportive measure in pharmacologic treatment of hypertension. (C) 2015 JTCM. All rights reserved.