I believe that massage, CST and yoga can change the body chemistry.  Studies show that Yoga can increase GABA by 28% in a 1-hour class. Gaba makes you feel good, calm, sleep better.  Massage and CST can have effects on anxiety, depression, and pain.  Massage has been shown to decrease cortisol levels by 30%, serotonin levels increase by 28%, thus changing a biochemistry and our bodies reactiveness to stress.  Serotonin is a big player in sleep, pain, and mood.  Even if we only get a small boost of change per visit.  I recommended every 7 days for 4 weeks of full body massage with CST.

Example Where Massage Helped Patient with Anxiety

A person came to me with anxiety, all day every day. The first visit the client said he has not felt this good, calm focused, and at ease for years. I recommended 7 days for next visist.  The client chose to go 10 days until next visit, client reported feeling great for about 7 days then the positive effects started to slowly drop off.  The client decided to try 7 days after the second visit and he reported 80% reduction of his anxiety, for about 18 days after the sequential treatment. He then cancelled his appointment, then coming in at 5 weeks he was back to anxiety all day.

From this we know change can happen, treatment recommendations and consistency are important especially with a chronic situation.

https://www.amtamassage.org/about/position-statements/massage-therapy-for-anxiety/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16162447/