Study on the effect of massage therapy in palliative care

Massage therapy is increasingly being used in palliative care to improve quality of life (QoL) and reduce symptom burden. However, the optimal "dosage" of massage is unclear.

The aim of this study by Hunter Groninger et al. was to compare three massage dosing strategies in hospitalized patients receiving a palliative care consultation.

A three-arm randomized trial was conducted in an urban university hospital to investigate the effects of different massage dosages on quality of life and symptoms. Group I received a 10-minute massage daily for 3 days, Group II received a 20-minute massage daily for 3 days, and Group III received a single 20-minute massage.

The primary endpoint was the McGill QoL single question. Secondary endpoints included pain and symptom relief, feeling of peace and satisfaction with the intervention. Data were collected at multiple time points: Baseline, before and after treatment, and one day after the last treatment (follow-up). Repeated measures ANOVA and paired t-tests were used for statistical analysis.

The 387 participating patients were on average 55.7 years old, predominantly women and mostly African-American. All three groups showed an improvement in quality of life at follow-up. There were no significant differences between the groups. The analysis showed an immediate improvement in discomfort and pain in all groups. However, a sustained improvement in discomfort was only evident in the groups with three consecutive daily massages (10 or 20 minutes).

Massage therapy showed positive effects in patients with advanced disease, regardless of dosage. While the session duration (10 or 20 minutes) produced short-term improvements, the treatment frequency (once vs. three days) was decisive for lasting effects.