Stress shows up everywhere in healthcare, but what we often forget is that the nervous system carries the weight of it all.

As a massage therapist, my work is rooted in the nervous system. Clients often arrive thinking massage is only about muscles, but what I see daily is how profoundly healing, therapeutic touch influences the body’s ability to regulate stress and recover.

When we are under stress, especially chronic stress, clients experience disrupted sleep, increased pain sensitivity, and slower healing. Massage shifts the balance by activating, the body’s “rest and digest” mode. This isn’t a vague sense of relaxation; it is a measurable physiological response. Studies show massage can lower cortisol, reduce blood pressure, improve heart rate variability, and reduce the volume of pain signals reaching the brain. Patients often report better sleep, calmer moods, and noticeably less pain after a treatment.

These outcomes make massage more than a comfort measure. By supporting nervous system regulation, it creates conditions in which the body can truly heal. For individuals living with chronic pain, fibromyalgia, post-surgical stress, or anxiety, this shift can be transformative and can enhance the effectiveness of conventional medical care.

This is also where our professions intersect. Nurses may not practice massage and massage therapists do not practice medicine in any way, yet you engage with clients and patients at moments of vulnerability when the nervous system is under strain. Even brief, intentional touch can signal safety, helping a patient move toward balance. At the same time, nurses themselves face high levels of stress and fatigue. Massage can serve as an essential self-care tool, helping to preserve the capacity to care for others.  What I love about massage is that it doesn’t take very long to make an impact, even 15 min can reduce stress and create a moment of stillness for tired nurses.

Massage is not an indulgence. It is a therapeutic intervention that works directly with the nervous system to restore balance and promote healing. In partnership, massage therapists and nurses can advance a model of care that is both evidence-informed and profoundly human.

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By Gail Korpan, RMT, COEE