title: Acute Swedish Massage Monotherapy Successfully Remediates Symptoms of Generalized Anxiety Disorder: A Proof-of-Concept, Randomized Controlled Study.
abstract: Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a prevalent and costly disorder for which many patients may prefer nontraditional treatment. A proof-of-concept study of was conducted to evaluate the acute effects of Swedish massage therapy (SMT) as a monotherapy for the treatment of subjects with GAD.
  
  
  
  A randomized, single-masked, clinical trial was conducted between March 2012 and May 2013 at the Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program of Emory University. Forty-seven currently untreated subjects with a DSM-IV diagnosis of GAD were randomly assigned to twice-weekly SMT versus a light touch control condition for 6 weeks. The primary outcome measure was reduction in Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HARS) scores after 6 weeks of treatment for SMT versus light touch, as determined by mixed model repeated-measures analysis of 40 evaluable subjects.
  
  
  
  Mean HARS baseline scores were 20.05 (SD = 3.34) for SMT and 19.58 (SD = 4.90) for light touch. At week 6, the difference in mean (standard error of the mean [SEM]) HARS score reduction was 3.26 points (SMT: -11.67 [1.09]; light touch: -8.41 [1.01]; t₁₀₆ = -2.19; P = .030; effect size = -0.69). Treatment group differences were significant (P < .05) starting at the end of week 3.
  
  
  
  This first monotherapy trial suggests that a complementary and alternative manual therapy, SMT, is an effective acute treatment for GAD.
  
  
  
  ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01337713.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, 2nd Fl, 12 Executive Park Dr NE, Atlanta, GA 30329. mrapapo@emory.edu.|Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
authors.forename: Mark Hyman
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Rapaport
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
authors.forename: Pamela
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Schettler
authors.affiliation: Atlanta School of Massage, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
authors.forename: Erika R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Larson
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
authors.forename: Sherry A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Edwards
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
authors.forename: Boadie W
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Dunlop
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
authors.forename: Jeffrey J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Rakofsky
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
authors.forename: Becky
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kinkead
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008405:Massage / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult