The journal of alternative and complementary medicine : research on paradigm, practice, and policy
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J Altern Complement Med · Sep 2020
Complementary Therapies for Patients with Cancer: Reflexology and Relaxation in Integrative Palliative Care. A Randomized Controlled Comparative Study.
Objectives: Comparison of the effects of reflexology and relaxation on pain, anxiety, and depression, and quality of life (QoL) of patients with cancer. Design: A stratified random sample was selected, using an experimental design. Location: An outpatient Palliative Care Unit in Attica, Greece. Subjects: 88 patients suffering with cancer. Interventions: The sample was randomly divided into two equal groups, a reflexology and a relaxation group. The number of interventions for both groups was six 30-min weekly sessions. Outcome measures: The Greek Brief Pain Inventory (G-BPI) was used to measure pain, the Greek Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale for screening anxiety and depression, and finally the Short Form Health Survey was used to measure QoL. ⋯ The baseline-to-sixth week G-BPI measurements were markedly decreased for the reflexology group (p = 0.207, η2 = 0.020). Conclusions: Both interventions, relaxation and reflexology, seemed to be effective in decreasing anxiety and depression in patients with cancer. However, reflexology was found to be more effective in improving QoL (physical component) and to have a greater effect on pain management than relaxation.
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J Altern Complement Med · Sep 2020
Multicenter Study Clinical TrialA Quality Brief of an Oncological Multisite Massage and Acupuncture Therapy Program to Improve Cancer-Related Outcomes.
Objectives: Cancer treatment can present its own physical and mental challenges resulting in symptoms such as fatigue, stress, pain, nausea, and vomiting. Aurora Health Care is a large health system with 19 cancer centers. Integrative therapies such as acupuncture and massage have demonstrated success in reducing cancer-related symptoms and side effects to conventional cancer treatment and improving patient outcomes. ⋯ MT was greater at reducing stress and pain, 42.5% and 34.4%, respectively. Conclusions: Across 15 cancer clinics, both AT and MT treatments consistently and significantly reduced cancer-related side effects. These findings highlight the value of conducting a larger randomized-controlled trial to further assess the impact of Oncological Multisite Massage and Acupuncture Therapy on cancer-related symptoms across multiple oncologic clinics.