Postburn itching, pain, and psychological symptoms are reduced with massage therapy.
Twenty patients with burn injuries were randomly assigned to a massage therapy or a standard treatment control group during the remodeling phase of wound healing. The massage therapy group received a 30-minute massage with cocoa butter to a closed, moderate-sized scar tissue area twice a week for 5 weeks. The massage therapy group reported reduced itching, pain, and anxiety and improved mood immediately after the first and last therapy sessions, and their ratings on these measures improved from the first day to the last day of the study.
Field
T
T
Touch Research Institute, University of Miami School of Medicine, Florida 33101, USA.
Peck
M
M
Scd
Hernandez-Reif
M
M
Krugman
S
S
Burman
I
I
Ozment-Schenck
L
L
D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D002056:Burns / Q000150:complications* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008405:Massage; D008875:Middle Aged; D010146:Pain / Q000209:etiology; D059408:Pain Management; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011537:Pruritus / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014945:Wound Healing