The Effectiveness of Massage Therapy and Mindfulness Training on the Symptoms of Depression, Anxiety and Disability Level in Women with Multiple Sclerosis (MS)

Backgrounds: this study was performed to evaluate the effectiveness of massage therapy and mindfulness training on the symptoms of depression, anxiety and disability level in women with multiple sclerosis. method: this research is a quasi-experimental research that was conducted as a pre-test-post-test design with a control group. massage exercises and mindfulness training were considered as independent variables and anxiety, depression, and disability level were considered as dependent variables. prior to the implementation of the independent variable, all three groups were measured using the beck anxiety inventory, kurtzke expanded disability status scale (edss) (online) and then, the independent variable (massage exercises and mindfulness training) was performed by the researcher for the two experimental groups. independent variable (massage therapy) was presented in 5 sessions, 2 sessions per week, for 15 minutes and 8 sessions of mindfulness training for the two experimental groups. at the end of the sessions, post-test was taken from all three experimental and control groups. descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (analysis of covariance) were used to analyze the data using spss22. result: the results of data analysis showed that the massage therapy protocol was more effective than mindfulness training in reducing anxiety and depression in women with multiple sclerosis and these two components had no effect on the level of disability in women. conclusion: massage therapy has a significant effect on the symptoms of depression, anxiety and disability level in women with multiple sclerosis. mindfulness has a significant effect on the symptoms of depression, anxiety and disability in women with multiple sclerosis. the effectiveness of massage therapy and mindfulness training on the symptoms of depression, anxiety and disability level in women with multiple sclerosis is different.