Relaxation and music reduce pain following intestinal surgery.
Three nonpharmacological nursing interventions, relaxation, chosen music, and their combination, were tested for pain relief following intestinal (INT) surgery in a randomized clinical trial. The 167 patients were randomly assigned to one of three intervention groups or control and were tested during ambulation and rest on postoperative days 1 and 2. Pain sensation and distress were measured with visual analog scales (VAS). Multivariate analysis of covariance showed significantly less post-test pain in the intervention groups than in the control group on both days after rest and at three of six ambulation post-tests (p = .024-.001), resulting in 16-40% less pain. Mixed effects after ambulation were due to the large variation in pain and difficulty relaxing while returning to bed; but post hoc explorations showed effects for those with high and low pain. These interventions are recommended along with analgesics for greater postoperative relief without additional side effects.
Good
Marion
M
Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106-4904, USA.
Anderson
Gene Cranston
GC
Ahn
Sukhee
S
Cong
Xiaomei
X
Stanton-Hicks
Michael
M
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007422:Intestines / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009147:Music Therapy; D010147:Pain Measurement; D010149:Postoperative Pain / Q000517:prevention & control*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D012064:Relaxation Therapy; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000517:prevention & control