title: Massage therapy plus topical analgesic is more effective than massage alone for hand arthritis pain.
abstract: METHODS
  20 adults were randomly assigned to a massage therapy or a massage therapy plus a topical analgesic application group. Both groups received a weekly massage from a therapist and were taught self-massage (same procedure) to be done by each participant once daily over a four-week period.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The massage plus topical analgesic group as compared to the massage group had greater improvement in hand function as measured by a digital hand exerciser following the first session and across the four-week period. That group also had a greater increase in perceived grip strength and a greater decrease in hand pain, depressed mood and sleep disturbances over the four-week period. Massage therapy has been effective for several pain syndromes including migraine headaches (Lawle and Cameron, 2006)), lower back pain (Hsieh et al., 2004), fibromyalgia (Kalichman, 2010), neck and shoulder pain (Kong et al., 2013), carpal tunnel syndrome (Elliott and Burkett, 2013), and pain related to upper limb arthritis (Field et al., 2013). The purpose of the current study was to determine whether applying a topical analgesic following massage might be more effective than massage alone in treating pain associated with hand arthritis.
authors.affiliation: Touch Research Institute, University of Miami Medical School, PO Box 016820, Miami, FL 33101, USA; Fielding Graduate University, USA. Electronic address: tfield@med.miami.edu.
authors.forename: Tiffany
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Field
authors.affiliation: Touch Research Institute, University of Miami Medical School, PO Box 016820, Miami, FL 33101, USA; Fielding Graduate University, USA.
authors.forename: Miguel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Diego
authors.affiliation: Touch Research Institute, University of Miami Medical School, PO Box 016820, Miami, FL 33101, USA.
authors.forename: Lynda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Solien-Wolfe
mesh_terms: D000279:Administration, Cutaneous; D000700:Analgesics / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001168:Arthritis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006225:Hand; D006801:Humans; D008405:Massage / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D059408:Pain Management / Q000379:methods*; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D000700:Analgesics
keywords: Hand arthritis pain; Massage therapy; Topical analgesic