The Science Behind The Thai Hand Method
Why Massage 3–5 Times a Week Can Transform Your Health
Interview with Manel Luque Aguilera, Founder of the Thai Hand Method
When the 2025 Nobel Prize in Medicine was announced, it confirmed what we’ve been observing for years at ITM Thai Hand Amsterdam: that massage is not just relaxation — it’s a biological reset.
For decades, scientists have known that regular movement improves health. But now they understand why: it’s about how the immune system learns to balance itself through repeated physical activation — whether through exercise or touch.
To explore what this means for everyday health, I spoke with Manel Luque Aguilera, founder of the Thai Hand Method, about how our weekly (or even daily) massage classes may be one of the most effective ways to restore the body’s natural rhythm and reduce inflammation.
The Nobel discovery: your immune system learns through movement
The Nobel Prize went to three researchers who studied how to activate T-lymphocytes, or T-cells — the “intelligent regulators” of our immune system.
T-cells control inflammation. They decide when the body should defend and when it should calm down. Without them, inflammation stays switched on — and becomes chronic.
Chronic inflammation is now known to underlie most modern illnesses: arthritis, burnout, depression, diabetes, fatigue, insomnia, even cancer.
The scientists found that these T-cells are naturally activated through regular muscle stimulation — ideally 3 to 5 times per week. That stimulation can come from a workout, yoga, or from something most people never considered: massage.
The key messengers: myokines
Every time your muscles move, they release special messenger molecules called myokines (from “myo” = muscle). These myokines travel through the bloodstream, sending signals that:
- reduce inflammation,
- repair tissues,
- support brain function, and
- trigger the release of anti-inflammatory cytokines by immune cells.
Some well-known examples — interleukin-10 and irisin — are now being studied as therapies for chronic pain, burnout, and even Alzheimer’s.
In simple terms: Myokines are how your muscles talk to your immune system. When this conversation happens regularly, your body doesn’t just heal — it learns to stay balanced.
Why massage works as well as exercise
“Massage stimulates muscle cells in the same way exercise does,” Manel explains. “It’s movement — but with awareness and touch.”
During a full-body Thai Hand Massage, pressure and stretch activate the same receptors in your muscles that respond during physical training. Your body releases myokines, your immune system releases regulatory T-cells, and your nervous system begins to relax.
That’s why, after a session, people don’t just feel relaxed — they sleep better, their digestion improves, their mood lifts, and chronic pain begins to fade.
The Thai Hand Method was designed for this purpose: to deliver a full-body activation (from feet to head) that’s strong enough to trigger the immune system, yet gentle enough to practise several times a week.
The body learns through repetition
One massage can feel wonderful — but by itself, it’s just the beginning.
A single session or workout produces a mild, temporary inflammation called a healing response. That’s normal — your body is adapting. But if you do it only once a month, your system never has time to stabilise. It keeps bouncing from inflammation to inflammation, from stress to stress.
When you repeat the experience 3 to 5 times a week, everything changes. Your body begins to adapt instead of react. The immune system starts producing more of the “peacekeeper” T-cells that calm inflammation.
In Manel’s words: “Once-a-month massage is therapy. Regular massage is training — for your immune system.”
That’s the foundation of our approach: short, frequent sessions that re-educate the body’s tissues, balance the nervous system, and keep you in a steady state of healing.
How The Thai Hand Method works
Your body is made up of just four types of tissue: epithelial, connective, muscle, and nerve.
The Thai Hand Method activates three of them at once:
- Muscle tissue — through movement and pressure.
- Connective tissue (fascia) — through stretching and release.
- Nerve tissue — through rhythm, breath, and mindful touch.
By engaging these systems together, the method helps restore homeostasis — the body’s natural balance between oxygen, nutrients, and metabolic waste.
No pill or machine can do that. Only regular touch can.
Real science. Real people.
At our school, this isn’t theory. We see it every day.
People who couldn’t sleep, who struggled with burnout or chronic back pain, start feeling different within weeks. Their heart rate slows. Their breathing deepens. Their pain disappears.
We measure it, we document it, we live it.
“We are all scientists,” Manel says. “Every person who joins The Massage Class becomes part of this discovery — through their own body.”
The movement for real health
Since 2009, our mission has been simple: to make massage as common as yoga — a weekly habit for real health, not a luxury for when you’re exhausted.
The 2025 Nobel Prize only confirms what we’ve seen for years: that touch, done regularly and consciously, is one of the most powerful tools we have to heal stress, pain, and chronic inflammation.
Health shouldn’t depend on medication or expensive treatments. It should begin with something human, natural, and within reach: your own two hands.
Ready to Feel the Science in Action?
Reading about it is one thing — experiencing it is another.
Join The Massage Class and see how your body responds when movement, breath, and touch work together.
You can start from home with our online video training, or join live in Amsterdam — no experience needed.
One class is all it takes to understand why this method works.
Create a happy, healthy and stress-free day!
Nicole & Manel
Massage School ITM Thai Hand Amsterdam