Swedish massage for osteoarthritis

First my confession. I have no idea whether Swedish massage is different and more exotic than regular massage Swedish Massage.

Dr. Perlman and colleagues from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Newark and Yale Prevention Research Center, Yale University School of Medicine recently published their findings suggesting that Swedish massage relieves pain in osteoarthritis. The article was published in the December 2006 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

These investigators conducted a randomized, controlled trial involving 68 subjects over a period of 8 weeks. Subjects were divided into Swedish massage group or delayed intervention.

The massage therapy group showed significant improvements in pain, stiffness, range of motion and time to walk 50 feet.

The authors concluded that massage therapy is effective in the treatment of osteoarthritis.

Massage therapy may be a valuable adjunct for treatment in such patients especially since many of the drug treatments carry significant side effects.

Do you or someone you know has arthritis? Have you had massage for stress relaxation or any other reason? What are your thoughts on the results of the above study?