Ahles, T. A., Tope, D. M., Pinkson, B., Walch, S., Hann, D., Whedon, M., . . . Silberfarb, P. M. (1999). Massage therapy for patients undergoing autologous bone marrow transplantation. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 18, 157–163.
The intervention was a Swedish/Esalen massage of shoulders, neck, and scalp lasting 20 minutes up to three times per week. Prior to hospitalization, patients were randomly assigned to massage or standard medical care conditions.
All participants were inpatients in the bone marrow transplantation unit of a cancer center.
Patients were undergoing the active treatment phase of care.
The study was a randomized trial comparing massage (n = 16) with a quiet time control condition (n = 18).
Fatigue was measured by a zero to 10 Numerical Rating Scale.