Review of research

Massage therapy, exercise therapy, or a combination of both were compared in a group of similar age, height weight, time since disease, and disability status scale. In a five week study, both massage therapy and exercise were found to have more positive effects than the control (Negahban, Rezaie, & Goharpey, 2013).

"The results of this randomized controlled pilot study showed that five weeks of massage resulted in decreased pain, fatigue, and spasticity, and improved balance, walking endurance and quality of life in the massage therapy group of patients with multiple sclerosis" (Negahban, Rezaie, & Goharpey, 2013). 

The article goes on to make conjectures about why massage would result in the observed effects. One theory is that massage activates large nerve fibres and interferes with their ability to transmit pain to the brain. Additionally, massage may stimulate the body's own pain-reducing chemicals, such as serotonin. Fatigue may be reduced because of blood lactate acid removal. These conclusions are not founded in science, but based on studies investigating phenomenon relating to other conditions. One relationship that has been proven in many studies, however, is the relationship between massage and muscle tone: This has been shown to be a result of reduced H-reflex in studies of patients with spinal cord injuries and cerebral palsy. These studies also showed improved gross motor function (Goldberg, Seaborne, Sullivan and Leduc, 1994, Macgregor, Campbell, Gladden, Tennant, & Young, 2007).

Exercise training included resistance and endurance training, such as on a bicycle or treadmill. "Improvements in fatigue, spasticity, balance, walking endurance, and quality of life" were observed in the exercise groups. They did not report a reduction in pain, however, as the massage group had. In this study, the massage group experienced greater improvements in dynamic balance and walking speed and reduced pain. 

Macgregor, R., Campbell, R., Gladden, M.H., Tennant, N., and Young, D. (2007). Effects of massage on the mechanical behaviour of muscles in adolescents with spastic diplegia: a pilot study. Dev Med Child Neurol; 49: 187-191.

Goldberg, J., Seaborne, D.E., Sullivan S.J., and Leduc B.E. (1994). The effects of therapeutic massage on H-reflex amplitude in persons with a spinal cord injury. Phys Ther; 74: 728-739.

Negahban, H., Rezaie, S., and Goharpey, S. (2013). Massage therapy and exercise therapy in patients iwth multiple sclerosis: a randomized controlled pilot study. Clinical Rehabilitation