Over the last several years massage therapy has been slowly but surely gaining credibility within the medical establishment, whether it’s for pain management, injury rehabilitation, anxiety, or depression.

Last week The New York Times even gave a nod to massage amongst its litany of alternative treatments for chronic pain:

Guided imagery, meditation, relaxation therapy and hypnosis or hypnotherapy are often useful adjuncts to pain treatment, because they can reduce stress and take one’s mind off the pain. Likewise, cognitive behavioral (”talk”) therapy can help patients think and behave differently with respect to their pain. Other options include massage and hydrotherapy, the use of hot or cold water to reduce inflammation and promote healing.

While this paragraph doesn’t come until after nearly a full page of discourse on various pharmaceutical approaches, it’s still encouraging to see the field of massage acknowledged in such a credible mainstream news source.