title: The efficacy of traditional Thai massage for the treatment of chronic pain: A systematic review.
abstract: Traditional Thai massage (TTM) is an alternative medicine treatment used for pain relief. The purpose of this paper is to provide a systematic review of the research about the effects of TTM on pain intensity and other important outcomes in individuals with chronic pain.
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed a systematic review of the controlled trials of the effects of TTM, using the keywords "Traditional Thai massage" or "Thai massage" with the keyword "Chronic pain."
  
  
  RESULTS
  Six research articles met the inclusion criteria. All of the studies found a pre- to post-treatment pain reductions, varying from 25% to 80% and was also associated with improvements in disability, perceived muscle tension, flexibility and anxiety.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The TTM benefits of pain reduction appear to maintain for up to 15 weeks. Additional research is needed to identify the moderators, mediators and to determine the long-term benefits of TTM relative to control conditions.
authors: Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kean University, Thailand.
authors: Keattichai
authors: K
authors: Keeratitanont
authors: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, USA.
authors: Mark P
authors: MP
authors: Jensen
authors: Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Associated Medical Sciences, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand.
authors: Uraiwan
authors: U
authors: Chatchawan
authors: Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kean University, Thailand. Electronic address: aparad@kku.ac.th.
authors: Paradee
authors: P
authors: Auvichayapat
mesh_terms: D059350:Chronic Pain / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008405:Massage; D008519:Medicine, Traditional; D013785:Thailand
keywords: Chronic pain; Thai massage; Traditional Thai massage