Massage Therapy To Reduce Cancer Pain

By Sarah Jones


Having cancer does not only damage our bodies but harms the spirit as well. A vulnerable body combined with a fragile spirit is not a great formula when handling this terrible disease. So it will be very important that we utilize every conceivable method to minimize any suffering cancer inflicted patients may feel.

Using complementary and alternative treatments are not unusual to the management of cancer-related symptoms such as pain, stress, weakness and others. Medical practitioners should be aware of the use of such treatments in order to be qualified to recommend it as an additional intervention. One of the most widely used complementary and alternative treatments is massage therapy.

Massage therapy, specifically labeled oncology massage (pertaining to the type of massage therapy administered by highly skilled massage therapists to persons with history of cancer), is a modest course of action involving physical manipulation, beginning from light to deep pressure, which often can bring several health benefits to ease symptoms from the disease progression and even the side effects caused by the cancer cure itself. Even though it cannot refute or eliminate the spread of cancer malignancy cells, therapeutic massage appears to hold an encouraging potential in symptom management and boosting the quality of life among cancer patients.

Numerous evaluations on readily available medical research documents have confirmed the advantages of massage therapy. It's rewards consist of - lowering in pain, strengthening immune function, lessening tension and weakness, minimizing fear and anxiety, and helping sleep and relaxation. Reported by research performed at a large cancer center, massage treatment is associated with a essential betterment in cancer sufferers' symptom scores. By assessing the degree of cancer symptoms - such as discomfort, physical weakness, stress and anxiety, queasiness, depression - the trial concluded that symptoms ratings were minimized as much as 50%, with gains continuing after 48-hour follow-up.

In the same manner, a organized review of randomized clinical trials that was printed in the journal of Supportive Care Cancer claimed that massage therapy can ease a great deal of cancer symptoms including depression, frustration, stress, pain, queasiness, and anxiousness amongst others. Methodologically, the review utilised half a dozen databases with the primary goal of disparagingly appraising therapeutic massage as a palliative treatment for cancer. In addition, a different randomized clinical study among women of all ages with primary breast cancer was performed to ascertain the usefulness of massage therapy in bringing down breast cancer symptoms along with relieving mood disturbances. Females receiving the massage obtained a large reduction in bodily pain and fatigue unlike the women in the control group.

By means of managing symptoms, massage therapy, being a non-invasive and cost-efficient therapy, can beneficially impact and lead to the general improvements in the quality of life of cancer patients.




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