Massages Ease Pain of Surgery Recovery, Researchers Find

According to researchers at the Mayo Clinic, treating yourself to a massage has more benefits than just relieving stress; results of a recent study indicated that massage therapy reduces pain levels experienced by patients following heart surgery.

In order to study the potential effects of massage therapy, 58 patients undergoing surgery were surveyed over a five month period. While patients in the control group (those who did not receive message therapy) reported no change in their levels of discomfort throughout the period, those who were treated to massages noticed significant changes. Before beginning therapy, patients were asked to rate their pain levels on a scale of one to 10, with one being the least painful and 10 being the most painful. Initially, patients reported an average level of three, but after receiving massage therapy, the average score indicated was less than one.

Susanne Cutshall, a registered nurse in the cardiovascular surgery group at the Mayo Clinic and lead author of the study, explained the motives behind the study.

"In surveys, we started to hear from patients that tension, stress, pain and anxiety hampered their recovery," she said. "Our goal was to look at the patient's mind, body and spirit experience."

To address the concerns of cardiac surgery patients, a team of surgeons, nurses, anesthesiologists and various other hospital personnel combined their efforts to form the Healing Enhancement Program. Beginning in 2004, the group visited other hospitals and scoured existing literature about complementary therapy and its effects on patient recovery.

"We knew long ago that our patients had stress and pain, but it had been seen as a normal part of the process," said Cutshall. "Today, patients speak up more, and we recognize it's not enough to fix the heart; we have to treat the whole patient."

In order to create the most comprehensive system possible, the Mayo Clinic researchers took a holistic approach to therapy. In addition to massage therapy, the team investigated other forms of alternative medicine such as music therapy, guided imagery and stress education classes.