Massage May Offer a Respite From Pain
Those with advanced cancer also say it improves mood

(HealthDay News) -- Although massage can't take away the pain of advanced cancer, a session with a licensed massage therapist might ease the pain and boost mood, at least for a while.

Massage therapy causes muscles to relax and blood vessels to dilate, according to experts at the University of California, San Diego Medical Center. It also causes oxygen and blood levels to increase, along with improving lymph circulation.

But it's not for everyone. People who've just had surgery, chemotherapy or radiation treatment should not receive massage, and areas where tumors are known to exist should not be massaged, the experts say. People with circulatory issues also should avoid massage.

But researchers who compared professional oncology massage to a method known as simple touch found that "massage was better than simple touch for pain and mood," the study's lead author, Dr. Jean Kutner, an associate professor of medicine at the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine, told HealthDay.

The results, though, were not long-lasting.

"On a weekly basis, there was no difference between the groups," Kutner said. "So, massage was better in the immediate time frame, but didn't appear to have a sustained effect."

Results of the study were published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

For the study, Kutner and her colleagues recruited 380 people with advanced cancer, including lung, breast, pancreatic, colorectal and prostate cancer. Most were getting hospice care and reported at least a moderate level of pain.

All of the massage therapists who participated in the study had received special training in oncology massage and had at least six months of experience in performing massage on people with cancer.

For the simple touch technique, therapists placed their hands on 10 specific body sites for three minutes at a time.

Just after having an oncology massage, mood scores increased by an average of 1.58 points on a scale of 0 to 10. Pain scores decreased by nearly two points on a scale of 0 to 10. After touch therapy, mood scores improved by nearly one point and pain scores decreased by nearly one point.

When the recipients were interviewed three weeks later, however, the researchers found no statistically significant differences between the two groups.

Kathleen Clayton, a licensed massage therapist and a spokeswoman for the American Massage Therapy Association, said that people with cancer who might want to try massage therapy should keep a couple of things in mind.

"Make sure the person giving you a massage knows what they're doing," she told HealthDay. "They need to be a licensed massage therapist and someone who has taken courses in oncology massage."

Dr. Jay Brooks, chairman of oncology and hematology at Ochsner Health Foundation in Baton Rouge, La., told HealthDay that "if massage helps people with advanced cancer feel better, then I'd say great, do it."

But Brooks added an important warning: First check with your doctor.

On the Web

To learn more about massage therapy as a medical treatment, visit the U.S. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

SOURCES: HealthDay News; Jean Kutner, M.D., professor and head of internal medicine, University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine; Jay Brooks, M.D., chairman, hematology/oncology, Ochsner Foundation Health System, Baton Rouge, La.; Kathleen Clayton, L.M.T., spokeswoman, American Massage Therapy Association; Sept. 16, 2008, Annals of Internal Medicine; Moores Cancer Center, University of California, San Diego (www.cancer.ucsd.edu)
Author: Serena Gordon
Publication Date: Sept. 30, 2009
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