By Bob Condor

We are long past associating a massage with pampering or strictly a luxury item. But it is always a welcome development to confirm something that feels so, well, relaxing, can be highly therapeutic too.

The newest scientific kudo for massage therapy comes from Louisiana State University researcher Dr. Alan Kaye and colleagues. In a study involving 263 volunteers, one 45- to 60-minute deep-tissue massage reduced systolic and diastolic blood pressure readings by 10 and 5 points, respectively. …