Massage Decreases Pain and Boosts Mood in Cancer Patients

According to a trial published in the September 16 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine, cancer patients may experience immediate benefits from massage, including decreased pain and improved mood.

Jean S. Kutner, MD, MSPH, from the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine, and colleagues write, " Massage may interrupt the cycle of distress through the therapist's intention (presence, communication, and desire to produce a therapeutic response), induction of a relaxation response, increased blood and lymphatic circulation, potentiation of analgesic effects, decreased inflammation and edema, manual release of muscle spasms, increased endogenous endorphin release, and competing sensory stimuli that override pain signals."

The goal of the study was to determine if quality of life could be improved for cancer patients with massage. The Palliative Care Research Network was used for the analysis, and included 380 adult patients diagnosed with advanced cancer. Assessment end-points included the immediate change in pain, using a scale of 1-10 from the Memorial Pain Assessment Card, measured just prior to and immediately following massage intervention. Other predictors of effectiveness included change in mood, from the same assessment tool. Heart and respiratory rates were taken, and the McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire was used, which also uses a scale of 1-10. A 0-4 point scale was used to measure distress, taken from the Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale. The study group also analyzed the patient’s use of Morphine.

Two groups were studied – the massage group received six 30-minute massage sessions, and the control group received simple-touch sessions for 2 weeks. The patients were followed for three weeks. Both groups experienced improvement in pain and mood, but the massage group experience more significant benefit. The authors concluded, "Given the lack of sustained effects and the observed improvements in both study groups, the potential benefits of attention and simple touch should also be considered in this patient population."

Ann Intern Med. 2008; 149:369-379.

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Massage Decreases Pain and Boosts Mood in Cancer Patients

Controlling Surgical Pain with Foot and Hand Massage – Study Review

A study published by Hsiao-Lan Wang, R.N., and Juanita F. Keck, R.N. in Pain Management Nursing, June 2004, (Vol. 5, No. 2, pp. 59-65), showed that twenty minutes of foot and hand massage “significantly reduced both pain intensity and distress resulting from incisional pain on the first postoperative day.” Each of the study participants were recovering from gastrointestinal, gynecological, urological, head, neck or plastic surgery. They all received pain medication one to four hours prior to the massage intervention, and each had asked for something to relieve incisional pain. Before, and immediately after the 20-minute massage, heart rate, respiratory rate and blood pressure were measured, and pain intensity and distress scores were evaluated.

The participants of the referenced study experienced significant reductions in both pain intensity and distress after the 20-minute foot and hand massage. Heart rate and respiratory rates decreased after the same therapist provided petrissage, kneading and friction for five minutes on each hand and each foot, for a total of 20 minutes.

The authors concluded: “Foot and hand massage appears to be an effective, inexpensive, low-risk, flexible, easily applied strategy for postoperative pain management.”

Though the study is not new, it seems alternative therapies are still overlooked, and studies perhaps forgotten, by even the most thoughtful and diligent practitioners of medicine. Healthcare administrators, when considering staff development in hospital and outpatient surgery settings, might take time to explore non-traditional options for patient care. Massage therapists and Nurses can provide much toward patient comfort and healing by providing and/or teaching massage techniques to family members. Improved patient outcomes include post-operative pain control, without excessive use of risky narcotics, shorter patient recovery times and fewer complications following surgery from patient mobilization.

As patient advocates, perhaps physicians, nurses and healthcare administrators should “step out of the box” and take a fresh look at proven alternative treatment options for patients in all types of healthcare settings. In this instance, a simple hand and foot massage sounds like a delightful alternative method for helping patients manage pain.

Resource: Foot and hand massage as an intervention for postoperative pain

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