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Itching, pain, and anxiety levels are reduced with massage therapy in burned adolescents.

Journal of burn care & research : official publication of the American Burn Association
January 1, 2010
Ayşe Parlak Gürol et al. (3 authors)
Journal ArticleRandomized Controlled TrialHuman StudyClinical
Study Details

Study Goal

The researchers aimed to determine whether massage therapy could reduce pain, itching, and anxiety levels in burned adolescents.

Results Summary

Massage therapy significantly reduced pain, itching, and anxiety levels in burned adolescents from the first to the last day of the 5-week study (P < .001). The study suggests massage therapy as an effective complementary treatment for burn patients.

Population

Adolescents (average age 14.07 ± 1.78 years) admitted to a burn unit, primarily from lower socioeconomic strata.

Effective Dosage

Not specified

Duration

5 weeks

Interactions

None mentioned

Extracted Claims (3)
InterventionDirectionEndpointPopulationDosageImpactClaim #
massage therapy
decrease
pain
burned adolescents
-
reduced
#1
massage therapy
decrease
itching
burned adolescents
-
reduced
#2
massage therapy
decrease
anxiety levels
burned adolescents
-
reduced
#3
Abstract

Burn can be among the most severe physical and psychologic traumas a person may face. Patients with burns commonly have severe itching and pain. Severe itching has also been associated with anxiety, sleep disturbance, and disruption of daily living activities. The addition of complementary treatments to standard care may lead to improved pain management and may offer a safer approach for reducing pain and procedural anxiety for patients with burns. The authors conducted an experimental study to examine whether the effects of massage therapy reduced burned adolescents' pain, itching, and anxiety levels. Sixty-three adolescents were enrolled in this study shortly after admission (mean days = 3 +/- 0.48) at a burn unit in a large university hospital from February 2008 to June 2009. The measures including the pain, itching, and state anxiety were collected on the first and last days of the 5-week study period. The participants had an average age of 14.07 +/- 1.78 years and came usually from the lower socioeconomic strata. The authors observed that massage therapy reduced all these measures from the first to the last day of this study (P < .001). In most cultures, massage treatments are used to alleviate a wide range of symptoms. Although health professionals agree on the use of nonpharmacologic method for patients with burns, these applications are not yet common.

Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
Activities of Daily LivingAdolescentAnxietyBurnsChildFemaleHumansMaleMassagePainPain ManagementPain MeasurementPruritusPsychometricsSleep Wake DisordersSocioeconomic FactorsTurkey
Study Links
Quality Scores
SafetyNot Assessed
Efficacy85/10
Quality75/10
Citation Metrics
Total Citations36
Citations/Year2.4
Relative Citation Ratio1.67
NIH Percentile68.7%
Research Impact Scores
APT Score0.75
Weight Score1.25
Normalized Score0.69
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