The pain reducing wonders of general massage
A new study published in the Archives of Surgery has found that massage can help to relieve pain after surgery, well duh. I wish the studies would go into more detail about the specifics of the kind of massage performed, from what i can gather is was general non-specific swedish back massage. In the study, 605 men had major surgery and 200 of them received daily 20-minute back massages for four days after the surgery. All participants received comparable doses of pain-relieving drugs such as morphine. People who had massage had a faster reduction in pain intensity and unpleasantness compared to those who didn't. The more studies are produced the quicker insurance will begin to consider paying for massage. The problem is the cost, the cost of a 20 minute daily massage for pain relief is much higher than just increasing the dosage of narcotic.
Arch Surg. 2007 Dec;142(12):1158-67; discussion 1167. Links
Acute postoperative pain management using massage as an adjuvant therapy: a randomized trial.
Mitchinson AR, Kim HM, Rosenberg JM, Geisser M, Kirsh M, Cikrit D, Hinshaw DB.
Section of General Surgery, Geriatrics and Palliative Care Program, VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, 2215 Fuller Rd, Ann Arbor, MI 48105, USA.
HYPOTHESIS: Adjuvant massage therapy improves pain management and postoperative anxiety among many patients who experience unrelieved postoperative pain. Pharmacologic interventions alone may not address all of the factors involved in the experience of pain. DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial. SETTING: Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Indianapolis, Indiana. PATIENTS: Six hundred five veterans (mean age, 64 years) undergoing major surgery from February 1, 2003, through January 31, 2005. INTERVENTIONS: Patients were assigned to the following 3 groups: (1) control (routine care), (2) individualized attention from a massage therapist (20 minutes), or (3) back massage by a massage therapist each evening for up to 5 postoperative days. Main Outcome Measure Short- and long-term (> 4 days) pain intensity, pain unpleasantness, and anxiety measured by visual analog scales. RESULTS: Compared with the control group, patients in the massage group experienced short-term (preintervention vs postintervention) decreases in pain intensity (P = .001), pain unpleasantness (P < .001), and anxiety (P = .007). In addition, patients in the massage group experienced a faster rate of decrease in pain intensity (P = .02) and unpleasantness (P = .01) during the first 4 postoperative days compared with the control group. There were no differences in the rates of decrease in long-term anxiety, length of stay, opiate use, or complications across the 3 groups. CONCLUSION: Massage is an effective and safe adjuvant therapy for the relief of acute postoperative pain in patients undergoing major operations.
Arch Surg. 2007 Dec;142(12):1158-67; discussion 1167. Links
Acute postoperative pain management using massage as an adjuvant therapy: a randomized trial.
Mitchinson AR, Kim HM, Rosenberg JM, Geisser M, Kirsh M, Cikrit D, Hinshaw DB.
Section of General Surgery, Geriatrics and Palliative Care Program, VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, 2215 Fuller Rd, Ann Arbor, MI 48105, USA.
HYPOTHESIS: Adjuvant massage therapy improves pain management and postoperative anxiety among many patients who experience unrelieved postoperative pain. Pharmacologic interventions alone may not address all of the factors involved in the experience of pain. DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial. SETTING: Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Indianapolis, Indiana. PATIENTS: Six hundred five veterans (mean age, 64 years) undergoing major surgery from February 1, 2003, through January 31, 2005. INTERVENTIONS: Patients were assigned to the following 3 groups: (1) control (routine care), (2) individualized attention from a massage therapist (20 minutes), or (3) back massage by a massage therapist each evening for up to 5 postoperative days. Main Outcome Measure Short- and long-term (> 4 days) pain intensity, pain unpleasantness, and anxiety measured by visual analog scales. RESULTS: Compared with the control group, patients in the massage group experienced short-term (preintervention vs postintervention) decreases in pain intensity (P = .001), pain unpleasantness (P < .001), and anxiety (P = .007). In addition, patients in the massage group experienced a faster rate of decrease in pain intensity (P = .02) and unpleasantness (P = .01) during the first 4 postoperative days compared with the control group. There were no differences in the rates of decrease in long-term anxiety, length of stay, opiate use, or complications across the 3 groups. CONCLUSION: Massage is an effective and safe adjuvant therapy for the relief of acute postoperative pain in patients undergoing major operations.