title: Pulmonary functions of children with asthma improve following massage therapy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study aimed at evaluating the effect of massage therapy on the pulmonary functions of stable Egyptian children with asthma.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study was an open, randomized, controlled trial.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study was conducted in pediatric allergy and chest unit of the New Children's Hospital of Cairo University, Egypt.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixty (60) children with asthma were divided randomly into two equal groups: massage therapy group and control group. Subjects in the massage therapy group received a 20-minute massage therapy by their parents at home before bedtime every night for 5 weeks in addition to the standard asthma treatment. The control group received the standard asthma treatment alone for 5 weeks.
  
  
  METHODS
  Spirometry was performed for all children on the first and last days of the study. Forced expiratory flow in first second (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), FEV1/FVC and peak expiratory flow (PEF) were recorded.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At the end of the study, mean FEV1 of the massage therapy group was significantly higher than controls (2.3-0.8 L versus 1.9-0.9 L, p=0.04). There was no significant difference in FVC (2.5-0.8 L versus 2.7-0.7 L, p=0.43). However, FEV1/FVC ratio showed a significant improvement in the massage therapy group (92.3-21.5 versus 69.5-17, p<0.01). PEF difference was not significant (263.5-39.6 L/minute versus 245.9-32 L/minute, p=0.06).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A beneficial role for massage therapy in pediatric asthma is suggested. It improved the key pulmonary functions of the children, namely, FEV1 and FEV1/FVC ratio. However, further research on a larger scale is warranted.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt. maf939@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Mohammed Abdel
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Fattah
authors.forename: Basant
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hamdy
mesh_terms: D001249:Asthma / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005541:Forced Expiratory Volume; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008405:Massage; D010366:Peak Expiratory Flow Rate; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D013147:Spirometry; D014797:Vital Capacity