State of body bioimpedance parameters after massage therapy

Abstract

Massage therapy is commonly non-invasive, non-harmful, economical, pleasant, and greatly appreciated by the recipients. The Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) method has been identified as one of the fastest, simple, and safest non-invasive techniques for measuring the body bioimpedance parameters after the massage therapy. This study aims to evaluate massage therapy's effect on the body bioimpedance parameters of the subject using the Bioelectrical Impedance method. The male bioimpedance parameters were measured before and after massage therapy by using the Microtest 6378 Impedance Analyzer. The measured bioimpedance parameters were capacitance (C), phase angle (θ), impedance (Z), resistance (R), and reactance (X). The other body composition parameters were then calculated, including basal metabolic rate (BMR), fat mass (FM), fat free mass (FFM), total body water (TBW) intracellular water (ICW), and extracellular water (ECW). The measurements of bioimpedance and body composition parameters were significantly different before and after the massage therapy. In addition, the massage therapy increased the capacitance, phase angle, impedance, resistance, reactance, fat mass, and intracellular water. However, the massage therapy decreased the BMR, FFM, TBW, and ECW. The study findings show that massage therapy has a significant impact on bioimpedance and body composition parameters in maintaining good health.