Body Image Massage
Frequent massages may help alleviate the body image issues behind a disabling eating disorder. Psychologist Sybil Hart and colleagues at the Touch Research Institute with researchers from Duke University Medical School, studied 19 women who were being treated for anorexia. All were underweight by at least 15 percent and refused (many, in fact, were terrified) to gain enough weight to reach a healthy level. During a five-week period, the subjects continued standard treatment (including psychotherapy, consultation with a dietician, and activities such as yoga). Ten of them also received a half four of Swedish massage twice a week. Tests before and after the first and last study days showed that anxiety levels dropped and moods improved only for the massage group, which also experienced a rise in the neurotransmitter dopamine (low levels of which are associated with anorexia). While they didn't gain more weight than the subjects who weren't massaged, they did improve significantly on measures of body image.
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