Massage therapy reduces physical discomfort and improves mood disturbances in women with breast cancer (original) (raw)
Related papers
Archives of Womens Mental Health, 2010
To investigate the efficacy of classical massage on stress perception and mood disturbances, 34 women diagnosed with primary breast cancer were randomized into an intervention or control group. For a period of 5 weeks, the intervention group (n = 17) received biweekly 30-min classical massages. The control group (n = 17) received no additional treatment to their routine health care. The Perceived Stress Questionnaire (PSQ) and the Berlin Mood Questionnaire (BSF) were used and the patients’ blood was collected at baseline (T1), at the end of the intervention period (T2), and 6 weeks after T2 (T3). Compared with control group, women in the intervention group reported significantly lower mood disturbances, especially for anger (p = 0.048), anxious depression (p = 0.03) at T2, and tiredness at T3 (p = 0.01). No group differences were found in PSQ scales, cortisol and serotonin concentrations at T2 and T3. However, perceived stress and cortisol serum levels (p = 0.03) were significantly reduced after massage therapy (T2) compared with baseline in the intervention group. Further research is needed to validate our findings.
Massage therapy for breast cancer patients: a systematic review
Annals of Oncology, 2011
Massage therapy can be defined as a method of manipulating the soft tissues of the body using pressure and traction. It is often used for the supportive care of cancer patients. A recent survey suggested that 11.2% of breast cancer patients used massage. Several reviews have been published. Most reviews are outdated, and none have provided quantitative estimates of the effect size. The objective of this systematic review was to summarize and critically assess the evidence for or against the
Effect of Massage Therapy on Minimizing Fatigue among Elderly Women with Breast Cancer
Background: Fatigue is a commonly reported debilitating symptom affecting more than 70% of elderly cancer patients, and experienced by up to 90% of breast cancer patients during active treatment. Massage therapy is considered a safe complementary approach that has a great rate of acceptance; therefore, it can be used in elderly women as a supportive care for fatigue management. Aim: Determine the effect of massage therapy on minimizing fatigue among elderly women with breast cancer. Research design: A quasi experimental research design was utilized. Method: The study includes a purposive sample of 72 elderly breast cancer women (≥60 years) attending at radiation unit of the oncology and nuclear medicine department. The study sample were divided into two groups; the study group (n=32) who received twelve Swedish massage sessions, and the control group (n=35) who received only routine care. The revised Piper Fatigue Scale was completed before and after massage intervention to evaluate the level of fatigue. Results: After 6 weeks of massage therapy, fatigue scores improved significantly in the study group (P>0.001) compared to the control group. While within group comparison, there was a significant improvement in post intervention fatigue score compared to pre intervention fatigue scores for study groups at the two time points (at week 3 and at week 6) (P>0.001), while it did not differ in the control group. Conclusion: Massage therapy is an effective approach in reducing fatigue in elderly women with breast cancer. Recommendation: Massage therapy as a noninvasive, cost effective, and easy to applied approach should be involved in routine care for elderly breast cancer patients as a health care services.
Autonomic Neuroscience, 2008
Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of repeated effleurage massage treatments compared with a visit control group on circulating lymphocytes by studying the number and activity of peripheral blood NK cells, CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in women with breast cancer. Furthermore, the effect of repeated effleurage massage treatments on the levels of cortisol in saliva and oxytocin in plasma as well as degree anxiety, depression and quality of life was studied. Design: A single centre, prospective, randomized, controlled trial. Settings/location: The study was conducted in a radiation department, in a hospital in south-western Sweden. Subjects: Twenty-two women (mean age = 62) with breast cancer undergoing radiation were included in this study. Interventions: The patients were randomly assigned to effleurage massage therapy (20 min of effleurage on ten occasions) or to control visits (ten 20-minute visits). Outcome measures: Blood samples were collected before the first and last massage/control visit for analysis of peripheral blood NK, T cells and oxytocin. Saliva was analysed for cortisol. In addition, the patients completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Life Satisfaction Questionnaire and Spielbergers State Trait Anxiety Inventory prior to the first and last massage/control visit. Results: Effleurage massage treatment had no significant effect on the number, frequencies or activation state of NK cells or CD4+ or CD8+ T cells. Furthermore, no significant changes between groups were detected on cortisol and oxytocin concentrations, anxiety, depression or quality of life. Conclusions: Significant effect of effleurage massage on cellular immunity, cortisol, oxytocin, anxiety, depression or quality of life could not be demonstrated in this study. Several possible explanations to the results of this study are discussed.
Massage Relieves Nausea in Women with Breast Cancer Who Are Undergoing Chemotherapy
The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 2007
The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of massage on nausea, anxiety, and depression in patients with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy. This work was a single-center, prospective, randomized, controlled trial. This study was conducted in an oncology clinic, in a hospital in southwestern Sweden. Thirty-nine (39) women (mean age = 51.8) with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy were enrolled. The patients were randomly assigned to a massage therapy group (20 minutes of massage on five occasions) or a control group (five 20-minute visits). All patients recorded nausea and anxiety on the Visual Analogue Scale before and after each intervention. They also completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Massage treatment significantly reduced nausea compared with control treatment (p = 0.025) when improvement was measured as a percentage of the five treatment periods. Differences in anxiety and depression between the two treatment regimes could not be statistically demonstrated. This study complements previous studies on the effect of massage and supports the conclusion that massage reduces nausea in these patients.
Role of Massage Therapy in Cancer Care
The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 2008
The care of patients with cancer not only involves dealing with its symptoms but also with complicated information and uncertainty; isolation; and fear of disease progression, disease recurrence, and death. Patients whose treatments require them to go without human contact can find a lack of touch to be an especially distressing factor. Massage therapy is often used to address these patients' need for human contact, and findings support the positive value of massage in cancer care. Several reviews of the scientific literature have attributed numerous positive effects to massage, including improvements in the quality of patients' relaxation, sleep, and immune system responses and in the relief of their fatigue, pain, anxiety, and nausea. On the basis of these reviews, some large cancer centers in the United States have started to integrate massage therapy into conventional settings. In this paper, we recognize the importance of touch, review findings regarding massage for cancer patients, describe the massage therapy program in one of these centers, and outline future challenges and implications for the effective integration of massage therapy in large and small cancer centers. 209 REVIEW OF RESEARCH FINDINGS Several reviews and overviews of the scientific literature have attributed important benefits to massage, including enhanced relaxation 7-9 ; improved sleep quality 7,9 ; decreased fatigue 7,9-11 ; relief of pain, 7-9,11-13 anxiety, 7-9,11,13 nausea 7-9,11,13 ; and improvements in immune system response. 7,8 However, just two of these articles 12,13 described their search criteria and assessed research quality.
Massage Therapy for Patients with Metastatic Cancer: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial
Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 2013
Objectives: The study objectives were to determine the feasibility and effects of providing therapeutic massage at home for patients with metastatic cancer. Design: This was a randomized controlled trial. Settings/location: Patients were enrolled at Oncology Clinics at a large urban academic medical center; massage therapy was provided in patients' homes. Subjects: Subjects were patients with metastatic cancer. Interventions: There were three interventions: massage therapy, no-touch intervention, and usual care. Outcome measures: Primary outcomes were pain, anxiety, and alertness; secondary outcomes were quality of life and sleep. Results: In this study, it was possible to provide interventions for all patients at home by professional massage therapists. The mean number of massage therapy sessions per patient was 2.8. A significant improvement was found in the quality of life of the patients who received massage therapy after 1-week follow-up, which was not observed in either the No Touch control or the Usual Care control groups, but the difference was not sustained at 1 month. There were trends toward improvement in pain and sleep of the patients after therapeutic massage but not in patients in the control groups. There were no serious adverse events related to the interventions. Conclusions: The study results showed that it is feasible to provide therapeutic massage at home for patients with advanced cancer, and to randomize patients to a no-touch intervention. Providing therapeutic massage improves the quality of life at the end of life for patients and may be associated with further beneficial effects, such as improvement in pain and sleep quality. Larger randomized controlled trials are needed to substantiate these findings.
Recent updates on massage therapy in oncology
Romanian Journal of Medical Practice, 2020
Background. Many oncologic patients are interesting to find ways to improve their conventional treatment and use massage therapy, alongside other methods of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), in order to relieve cancer-related symptoms. Aim. This paper's aim is to evaluate the effects of massage in oncologic patients, adults and children. Conclusions. Massage therapy appears to be useful in relieving cancer related symptoms. However, more randomized studies are needed to really underline the benefits and the risks of this therapy, so the health professionals should choose the proper method for each patient.
ISRN Nursing, 2011
A considerable number of cancer patients use complementary medicine therapies in order to alleviate different symptoms such as pain, anxiety, and depression, occurring in connection with cancer. This paper explores the question to what extent massage therapies are able to reduce the amount of pain, anxiety, and depression. For this purpose, a systematic literature analysis was carried out in the electronic databases and specialist journals. There is already evidence that massage therapies can influence the symptoms of pain, anxiety, and depression in a positive way.