Wow, I can't believe the responses to this one. I don't know what kind of massage 'services' you guys have in the U.S., but in Canada, Registered Massage Therapists receive a thorough 3 year education and are respected health care professionals, as much as nurses or physiotherapists.
Massage therapy has helped me immensely
1) 18 years ago, when I started developing a 'hunch back' my MD told me it was just fat. About 3 years ago I was told it was not fat, but that the muscles had become so tight, that they had deformed that part of my spine. It took only 3 months of massage therapy to eliminate that huch that took 15 years to develop, allowing for chiropractic adjustments to straighten the spine to its normal curvature. That would not have been possible without massage therapy, and I am so grateful that my massage therapist was well schooled enough in anatomy and physiology to know the difference between 'fat' and 'muscle unlike my previous MD.
2) I had started experiencing horrendously excruciating head tightness and neurological symptoms that neither my MD or neurologist could figure out the cause of. I was not able to function and I was having the worst headaches and migraines imaginable. My massage therapist found that the fascia in my head was extremely tight and dry (kind of cemented). The work she did took away my extreme suffering, and allowed me to be functional and back to work again.
3) When I was diagnosed with cancer, I became extremely stressed. I could not relax, had trouble getting to sleep and was an absolute mess. Thanks to massage therapy, for working on relaxing my central nervous system, I was able to get through the initial shock with greater ease so I could get on with the cancer fight. A stressed body compromises the immune system, and a compromised immune system is not well equipped to battle cancer.
These are the 3 greatest ways I have benefited from Massage Therapy. My 'happy endings' include a shrinking tumor, no headaches or other neurological issues, and no hunchback!