The Effect of Massage on Diabetes and its Complications: A Systematic Review

Massage therapy has been used since ancient times for many diseases. This systematic review aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of massage therapy on the symptoms and complications of diabetes mellitus (DM).

Three electronic databases including PubMed, Google Scholar, and Scopus were searched from January 1, 2000 to May 13, 2018 using relevant keywords, followed by identifying all relevant randomized controlled trials. The study design, interventions, controls, primary outcome measures, follow-up, and main results were extracted and methodological quality was evaluated using the Jadad Scale by two authors independently.

Significant results were obtained, including a decrease in blood glucose, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels while an improvement in neuropathic pain and diabetic foot ulcer in the related articles.

From this review, massage therapy can affect the clinical and laboratory symptoms and complications of the DM. However, various conditions such as the quality and quantity of pressure and duration, as well as the number of sessions, the type of massage, and the psychophysical state of patients can change the results of massage therapy.