March 11, 2003 – Touch therapy has a positive but modest impact on the well-being of hospital patients, two new studies show.
In the first case1, the researchers studied the effect of a 20-minute massage on 23 patients hospitalized for a heart exam. Immediately after the massage, these patients had a mean arterial pressure of 69/133, compared to 70/145 for the control group (23 patients hospitalized for the same examination but not having received a massage).
While the impact on systolic pressure is marked, the same is not true for other factors. Thus, the researchers found no appreciable difference between the two groups in terms of respiration, heart rate or skin temperature.
Similarly, researchers have investigated the usefulness of massage and therapeutic touch for patients hospitalized for bone marrow transplants.2.
Twenty-seven patients received massages, 31 received therapeutic touch and 30 (the control group) received a courtesy visit. The intervention started at the same time as the chemotherapy and was repeated every three days until the end of the treatment.
The results are modest. For all three groups, the time required for the transplant to be considered successful was virtually identical. Likewise, in 10 of the 11 categories of complications studied, no difference was detected (the only exception: the “massage” group suffered fewer neurological complications than the “visit” group). Finally, the groups that received the massage or therapeutic touch were more convinced of the benefits of their therapy than the control group.
The researchers therefore come to the conclusion that touch therapy can alleviate the psychological and neurological complications associated with a bone marrow transplant.
In the same vein, finally, an editorial from the British Medical Journal3 concludes that the effectiveness of Swedish massage in relieving back pain remains to be demonstrated. The editorial claims that studies that have looked into the issue offer encouraging but not compelling evidence.
Jean-Benoit Legault – PasseportSanté.net
From Alternative Therapies, Jan / Feb 2003.
1. McNamara ME, Burnham DC, Smith C, Carroll DL. The effects of back massage before diagnostic cardiac catheterization. Altern Ther Health Med 2003 Jan-Feb; 9 (1): 50-7. [Consulté le 11 mars 2003].
2. Smith MC, Reeder F, Daniel L, Baramee J, Hagman J. Outcomes of touch therapies during bone marrow transplant.Altern Ther Health Med 2003 Jan-Feb; 9 (1): 40-9. [Consulté le 11 mars 2003].
3. Ernst E. Massage treatment for back pain.BMJ 2003 Mar 15; 326 (7389): 562-3. [Consulté le 17 mars 2003].