Acupuncture and Massage Reduce Pain After Cancer Surgery
ACUPUNCTURE AND MASSAGE REDUCE PAIN AFTER CANCER SURGERY
Acupuncture and massage are effective in decreasing pain and depression following surgery in cancer patients, according to a UCSF study. The study compared post-operative pain, nausea and mood symptoms in two groups of hospitalized patients during the first three days after cancer surgery. The study appears in the March 2007 issue of the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management.
One group had standard medication treatment, and one group received a combination of Swedish massage, Shiatsu foot massage and traditional Chinese acupuncture treatment along with standard care. Massage therapy sessions ranged from 10-30 minutes depending on clinical condition and acupuncture was used to treat pain, nausea and anxiety. Study findings indicated that compared with usual care alone, the combination of massage and acupuncture was associated with reduced post-operative pain and reduced depression.
“This pilot study confirmed that pain after surgery decreased when patients underwent a combination of massage and acupuncture. This is a significant finding because there are implications for further study to see if these therapies should be offered to hospitalized patients for symptom management,” said Wolf Mehling, M.D., lead author and UCSF assistant professor of family and community medicine. “For patients who received acupuncture and massage, it is possible that this personal attention contributed to a marked decrease in anxiety.”
During the three-day post-operative period, patients used a 0-10 point numeric pain rating scale to rank severity of current pain and pain during the previous 24 hours. The average scores among patients reporting significant pain improved by 1.8 for the massage and acupuncture intervention group compared to 0.3 in the control group. “The combination of massage and acupuncture for symptom management in perioperative cancer patients has never been studied,” said Mehling. “We know that integration of these therapies has shown short-term benefit on psychological well-being, but there has not been strong evidence to support it until now.”
To learn more about Acupuncture & Massage Therapy call Dr. Richard Browne at 305.595.9500
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April 7th, 2007 at 4:42 am
May I also add that Reiki is also excellent for people in the post-operative period.
April 22nd, 2007 at 2:57 am
I myself am a reiki practitioner but wont suggest giving reiki to anyone immediately after any delicate operation. Its suggested that reiki be given only after the person has recovered health to some extent post surgery.
April 23rd, 2007 at 12:55 pm
Dear Reiki Practitioner; I will respect your stance on not perporming Reiki under certain circumstances, as a practitioner you should practice in a manner that is in compliance with your belief system. As a Reike Master I have treated a number of individual as they lay sick in the hospital. In one such case a woman patient of mine called to have me treat her father who was involved a in a terrible auto accident. Whem I go to the hospital I was in shock. He was motionless and practically unconscious. I did not want to pass energy to him but his daughter begged me to treat him. I did so reluctantly, thinking that it was a waste of time. The very next day she called to have me treat him again, she was so happy after my initial treatment he opened his eyes and motioned to her to come closer. He asked her what ws it that I did to him . Although he looked out of it he felt the energy of the Reike treatment. Reiki may not be a cure all, but we cannot diminish the value of its application.
April 26th, 2007 at 11:48 am
Dear Dr. Brown,
I myself had applied reiki to a broken ankle of a girl some years ago. The girl fell from a vehicle and her ankle was broken. I applied reiki instantly on the spot, and after about 1/2 an hour the pain subsided and the girl was taken to a local nursing home. But that was a long time ago! I have learnt and seen a lot of things on reiki, and now cant say for sure that applying reiki to people in critical conditions is advisable. I have seen conditions getting worse after applying reiki and in some cases even applying it multiple times brought no changes. I do not buy into the usual argument put forth by reiki masters that conditions get worse only because the toxins are getting cleared from the body. Relying or asking someone to rely on something which has no concrete medical evidence of efficacy, especially during a delicate or critical phase can be harmful and should be avoided.