Massage Can Help Ease Pain After Surgery
By HealthAngle Staff
Massage, in addition to pain medication, can offer relief from pain after major surgery, researchers report in the journal Archives of Surgery.
In a study of 605 men undergoing operations, patients who were given massage experienced short-term decreases in pain intensity, pain unpleasantness and anxiety, compared with patients who did not receive massage (the control group). Additionally, patients in the massage group experienced a faster rate of decrease in pain intensity and unpleasantness during the first four days following surgery, compared with the control group.
The authors of the study conclude that massage is an effective and safe additional therapy for the relief of acute postoperative pain in patients undergoing major surgery.
“With proper training, health care providers at the bedside (especially nurses) may now have a powerful nonpharmacologic tool to directly address their patients’ pain and anxiety,” write the researchers.
“Massage has been used as a medical therapy since the time of Hippocrates, around 400 B.C., until the focus of medical care shifted to biological science,” explains Marie Hanna, M.D., in an accompanying article (Arch Surg. 2007;142(12):1167). “Therapeutic benefits of massage therapy include vasodilatation, increased skin temperature, and relaxation of mind and body. Massage is also thought to reduce lactic acid levels in the muscles, stimulate healing of the connective tissues, and increase lymphatic and venous circulation.”
The study followed 605 men with a mean age of 64 at Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Indianapolis, Indiana.