Massage for pain relief

Gentle massage may temporarily relieve pain and improve the mood in terminally ill cancer patients. Some patients nearing death seek pain relief with massage, but little is known about the effectiveness of massage in managing pain among those suffering with cancer. To study the impact of massage therapy on the pain and mood of cancer patients, researchers from America studied 380 patients with advanced cancer. The participants were randomly divided into two groups- the first group received six 30-minute massages and the other received simple-touch sessions over 2 weeks.It was found that improvement in pain and mood immediately after treatment was greater with massage than with simple touch therapy. Unfortunately, the researchers did not note any sustained differences in pain, quality of life, or analgesic use during 3 weeks. Adverse effects were infrequent and similar in both groups. The benefits of massage therapy could be attributed to the fact that apart from providing attention and human contact to the patients, massage decreases inflammation and swelling, triggers a flood of "feel-good" hormones called endorphins, and helps release muscle spasms. This subsequently eases pain and improves mood.Though the benefits noted in cancer patients were not long lasting, the above findings suggest that massage could be a safe way to ease cancer patients' pain. Further studies are expected to explore the potential benefits of massage for people with less-advanced cancer or with other serious illnesses.

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