Lee, S.H., Kim, J.Y., Yeo, S., Kim, S.H., & Lim, S. (2015). Meta-analysis of massage therapy on cancer pain. Integrative Cancer Therapies, 14, 297–304.
STUDY PURPOSE: To investigate the effects of massage therapy on cancer pain
TYPE OF STUDY: Meta-analysis and systematic review
PHASE OF CARE: Multiple phases of care
APPLICATIONS: Palliative care
Massage was associated with lower pain (SMD = –1.25, p = 0.0001). Subgroup analysis according to type of intervention, massage, aromatherapy massage, or foot reflexology showed positive effect of each type, though few studies in each subgroup existed. PEDro scores indicated that only three studies were low quality, and the rest were high quality; however, risk of bias evaluation varied widely and showed that most studies had moderate to high risk of bias. Effects of massage were more positive in those studies with higher risk of bias.
Findings show that massage therapy has positive benefits for cancer-related pain.
Massage therapy is effective in reducing pain among patients with cancer. This low-risk intervention can be helpful in pain management.