Massage therapy can be highly beneficial for hospice patients. Along with providing a means of relaxing and comfort. According to the American Massage Therapy Association, it has proven to significantly decrease pain and anxiety. Other symptoms and conditions that massage therapy can improve include:
 

• Difficulty sleeping

• Depression and mood disorders

• Stress

• Nausea

• Fatigue

So why is positive touch so powerful? Research shows that because we experience touch at birth as one of the first sensations that welcomes us into the world, it only makes sense that it should be one of the last perceptions we have before we pass. Touch has been found to raise the blood pressure of people in a deep coma. Research has also shown it can penetrate the nonverbal state of Alzheimer’s patients who may blurt out a cohesive sentence while receiving massage to the effect of “that feels good,” only to go right back to their silent world. Touch can penetrate the semi-comatose state people experience when on severe painkillers to give the overall treatment an element of human contact. Many times, patients reduce their demand for drugs when receiving massage therapy.

The type of massage therapy for hospice patients is different from the standard approach. Massage therapists would use geriatric massage techniques focused on the amelioration of pain, instead of using the vigorous approaches of deep tissue work or acupressure.