The Effects of Massage Therapy in Decreasing Pain and Anxiety in Post-Surgical Patients With Breast Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Strong EvidenceIn Plain Language: anxiety, explained
Massage therapy is an effective non-pharmacological intervention in treating pain and anxiety of patients with cancer. Prior studies have reviewed the benefits of massage therapy in patients with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy, radiation, and other patient-specific cancer treatments. What has yet to be examined is the effects of massage therapy on the pain and anxiety of patients with breast cancer after surgery. : The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to examine the effect of massage therapy on post-surgical pain and anxiety in patients with breast cancer. Systematic searches were performed using databases PubMed, CINAHL, and Medline (EBSCO), with no date constraint through September 30, 2023, to identify randomized control trials, randomized pilot, and quasi-experimental studies. The database searches retrieved 1205 titles, and after screening, 7 studies were chosen for full analysis using Cohen's d, 95% Confidence Interval (CI), and effect size. The heterogeneity of the studies was calculated in the meta-analysis using Cochran's Q equation. Massage therapy techniques reported were massage therapy, classic massage, reflexology, myofascial release, and myofascial therapy, and were performed at day 0 up to 16 weeks post-surgery. Massage therapy decreased pain and anxiety for patients in the massage group. Analyses showed a positive effect size using massage therapy as an intervention for pain and anxiety in women with breast cancer post-surgery. Overall effect size for pain was 1.057 with a P-value of P-value of <.0001. The current evidence in this study reflects that massage therapy is effective as a non-pharmacological tool in decreasing post-surgical pain and anxiety in women with breast cancer.
Key Findings: what this systematic review found about anxiety
- ✓Massage therapy was identified as an effective non-pharmacological intervention for reducing both pain and anxiety in post-surgical breast cancer patients.
- ✓A systematic review of seven randomized controlled trials and quasi-experimental studies through September 2023 was conducted to evaluate massage therapy's effects on post-surgical pain and anxiety.
- ✓This meta-analysis fills a research gap by being the first to specifically examine massage therapy outcomes in breast cancer patients after surgery, as previous studies focused on patients undergoing chemotherapy and radiation.
What This Means for You
If you're recovering from breast cancer surgery, massage therapy appears to be an evidence-based option that may help reduce your pain and anxiety during healing.
What This Means for Practitioners
This systematic review supports massage and reflexology as effective complementary interventions for post-surgical breast cancer patients, validating their integration into recovery protocols.
Anxiety: common questions
What does this study say about anxiety?
If you're recovering from breast cancer surgery, massage therapy appears to be an evidence-based option that may help reduce your pain and anxiety during healing.
What did this study find?
Massage therapy was identified as an effective non-pharmacological intervention for reducing both pain and anxiety in post-surgical breast cancer patients. A systematic review of seven randomized controlled trials and quasi-experimental studies through September 2023 was conducted to evaluate massage therapy's effects on post-surgical pain and anxiety. This meta-analysis fills a research gap by being the first to specifically examine massage therapy outcomes in breast cancer patients after surgery, as previous studies focused on patients undergoing chemotherapy and radiation.
How strong is this evidence?
This is a systematic review and we rate its evidence strong. It was published in Global advances in integrative medicine and health. This study is indexed here for context; it did not test reflexology itself.
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