Massage on experimental pain in healthy females: a randomized controlled trial.
This randomized controlled study evaluated the effect of massage on affect, relaxation, and experimental pain induced by electrical stimulation. Participants were 96 healthy women (M age = 20.13 ± 5.93 years; 84.4% White) randomly assigned to a 15-minute no-treatment control, guided imagery, massage or massage plus guided imagery condition. Multilevel piecewise modeling revealed no group differences in pain intensity, threshold, or tolerance. The two massage conditions generally reported decreased pain unpleasantness, lower unpleasant affect, maintenance of pleasant affect, and increased relaxation compared to the no-treatment condition. The results suggest that massage may alter immediate affective qualities in the context of pain.
University of Kansas, USA.
Cynthia W
CW
Karlson
Nancy A
NA
Hamilton
Michael A
MA
Rapoff
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect / Q000502:physiology; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D019018:Imagery, Psychotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D008405:Massage / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010146:Pain / Q000209:etiology; D059408:Pain Management / Q000379:methods*; D010147:Pain Measurement; D012063:Relaxation / Q000502:physiology; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
affect; experimental pain; guided imagery; massage; randomized controlled