Massage for Pain Management in Patients with Sickle Cell Disease: A Review Study

Abstract

Context: The most common side effect reported by Sickle cell disease patients is unforeseen and chronic pain crisis. A combination of pharmacological and non-drug treatments is suggested for managing pain in patients with SCD. One of the non-drug treatments is massage therapy. This study aimed to evaluate the use and effectiveness of massage in reducing pain in patients with SCD.Evidence Acquisition: This study is a literature review of the period of 1990 to 2016. The search was done in databases and reputable sites including Medline, Cochrane Library, ProQuest, Ovid, Web of Knowledge, SID, Magiran, and Barakat using the keywords including massage therapy, pain, sickle cell, and patient. A total of 14 articles were selected for review.Results: Among 14 articles, five studies experimentally tested the effect of massage on reducing pain in patients with SCD, while the other nine studies only examined the rate of patients using massage and reported the rate of massage in the range between 5% and 79%. The results of the experimental studies indicated the effectiveness of massage therapy in reducing pain in patients with SCD. Conclusions:Massage therapy is one of the most common types of alternative medicine used for patients with SCD. Studies showed that massage therapy could have a role in reducing pain in patients with SCD. However, more extensive studies are needed in this field.

Massage therapy for children, adolescents, and young adults: Clinical delivery and effectiveness in hematology and oncology

“…10 A review of five RCTs found that MT can provide significant pain reduction; improve functional status; reduce depression, anxiety, and stress; and potentially reduce analgesic use and length of stay. 11 Given the significant pain burden, 12 severity of vaso-occlusive crises, 13 barriers to accessing nonpharmacologic pain management, 14 and structural racism 15…”

“…Even fewer studies have examined MT among children and adolescents with SCD, despite these individuals often being hospitalized within the same medical oncology units as children and adolescents with cancer 10 . A review of five RCTs found that MT can provide significant pain reduction; improve functional status; reduce depression, anxiety, and stress; and potentially reduce analgesic use and length of stay 11 . Given the significant pain burden, 12 severity of vaso‐occlusive crises, 13 barriers to accessing nonpharmacologic pain management, 14 and structural racism 15 affecting individuals with SCD, research is needed to understand the effectiveness of MT within this population as distinct from patients with other hematologic and/or oncologic conditions.…”

Sickle cell disease in Nigerian children: A cross-sectional study on parental awareness and home management of pain

“…This finding also puts to question the additional benefits of some forms of CAM, particularly massage whose beneficial effects evaluated by previous studies were conflicting, probably due to application by patients and relatives who are mostly non-professionals. 30 Moreover, the long term efficacy of CAM cannot be reflected in our findings given the study period.…”

Pain screening in youth with sickle cell disease: A quality improvement study

“…3 IHM modalities involve the coordinated combination of conventional medicine (e.g., medication, physical rehabilitation, and surgery) and evidence-based modalities such as acupuncture, music therapy, massage, and chiropractic care to address the needs of the whole person (body, mind, and spirit). 6 Several clinical trials have supported the benefits of IHM modalities including acupuncture 7 and massage therapy 8 for addressing acute pain among youth and adults with SCD, and music therapy for addressing acute 9 and chronic pain 10 among adults with SCD. Additionally, recent observational studies have demonstrated the clinical effectiveness of massage therapy 11 and music therapy 12 among pediatric and adult patients with SCD, respectively.…”