Karagozoglu, S., & Kahve, E. (2013). Effects of back massage on chemotherapy-related fatigue and anxiety: Supportive care and therapeutic touch in cancer nursing. Applied Nursing Research, 26, 210–217.
To determine efficacy of back massage on fatigue and anxiety in patients receiving chemotherapy
Before chemotherapy infusions were started, patients completed study data collection in face-to-face interviews. During chemotherapy administrations, patients in the intervention group received a back massage for 15 minutes before the infusions and between 25–40 minutes of each one-hour period of chemotherapy administration. Data collection was repeated immediately after the massage intervention, and patients were interviewed by phone 24 hours after the chemotherapy treatment for the completion of postintervention data collection. Patients were not randomly assigned to treatment and control groups.
Quasi-experimental, cross-sectional cohort study
Fatigue scores were significantly different between groups at baseline and higher in the control group the day after chemotherapy. There were no significant differences between groups in the change of fatigue pre- and postintervention. Mean anxiety scores in the control group increased after chemotherapy while those in the intervention group declined. Differences between groups were not statistically significant.
Findings provide limited evidence that back massages may be helpful in reducing anxiety and fatigue experienced during treatment with chemotherapy.
Massage is a low-risk intervention that may be helpful to some patients during active chemotherapy treatment to reduce anxiety or fatigue. This study, however, does not provide strong supportive evidence due to multiple study design limitations.