Effects of connective tissue massage on physical and emotional symptoms, insomnia, and quality of life in postmenopausal women: A randomized, sham-controlled trial

Abstract

Objectives: Connective tissue massage is a therapeutic approach with local, reflex, and systemic effects. This study evaluated the effects of connective tissue massage on postmenopausal symptoms, menopause-specific quality of life, and insomnia.

Study design: A total of 57 postmenopausal women were randomly allocated to either the massage group (n = 28) or the control group (sham therapeutic ultrasound) (n = 29). Participants received massage or the sham intervention in 3 sessions per week for 4 weeks, each session lasting 15 min. The Wilcoxon test was used for within-group comparisons, and the independent groups t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, or Pearson chi-square test were used for between-group comparisons. Statistical significance was set as p ≤ .05.

Main outcome measures: The primary outcome was menopausal symptom severity, assessed by the Menopause Rating Scale. Secondary outcomes included hot flash frequency, hot flash score (frequency × severity), menopause-specific quality of life, emotional status, insomnia, and satisfaction with the intervention.

Results: Data from 52 of the 57 participants were included in the final analysis. There was a greater improvement in the massage group compared with the control group in all primary and secondary outcome measures except insomnia severity (p ≤ .05).

Conclusions: Connective tissue massage can be offered as a first-line approach to improve physical and emotional health in the short term for postmenopausal women. Further studies are needed to determine the long-term effects.

Clinical trial registration number: NCT05293860.

Keywords: Climacteric; Connective tissue manipulation; Hot flash; Insomnia; Menopause; Physical therapy.