Integrative Care Therapies and Pain in Hospitalized Children and Adolescents: A Retrospective Database Review

Abstract

Background: Complementary or integrative care therapies are promising adjunctive approaches to pain management for pediatric inpatients that are currently underused and understudied. The purpose of this study was to examine the potential benefits of integrative care therapies delivered to hospitalized children and adolescents at a large Midwestern academic pediatric medical center over a 1-year period. Methods: A retrospective chart review of an inpatient clinical database maintained by integrative care therapists over a 1-year period was used for the current study. Pre/post pain and relaxation scores associated with the delivery of inpatient integrative care therapies (primarily massage therapy and healing touch) were examined. Results: Five-hundred nineteen hospitalized children and adolescents were treated by integrative care therapists for primarily pain or anxiety needs. Patients had a mean age of 10.2 years (standard deviation, 7.0), 224 were female (43%), 383 were white (74%), and most (393 [77%]) received massage therapy. Mean pain and relaxation scores decreased significantly from pre-to post-therapy across all demographic and clinical subgroups ( p £ .001). Conclusions: Although integrative care therapies are increasingly requested and offered in children's hospitals, provision of these approaches is driven primarily by consumer demand rather than evidence-informed practice. Future controlled studies should examine the incremental effects of integrative care therapies as an adjunct to conventional treatment, assess how these therapies work mechanistically, and determine whether they improve outcomes, such as pain and cost, for hospitalized children and adolescents.

Pediatric Integrative Medicine

“…135 Infant massage may also have beneficial effects on the bilirubin concentrations of preterm infants, likely through increased stooling frequency. 135 Massage has also been shown to increase weight gain in term infants 136 and has a beneficial effect on symptoms of colic, 137 pain in hospitalized children, 138 ADHD, 139 and depression. 137,140 Although massage can be a beneficial adjunctive therapy in some childhood conditions mentioned previously, further studies are needed on the effectiveness of massage on many other childhood conditions.…”

Massage therapy for paediatric procedural pain: A rapid review

“…In an attempt to better manage procedural pain safely and effectively, complementary therapies are being sought as adjuncts to conventional pain management (9). Massage therapy (MT), defined as the manipulation of muscles and other soft tissues of the body to enhance health and well-being (10), is a popular complementary therapy (8,11).…”