Randomized control trial evidence for the benefits of massage and relaxation therapy on sleep in cancer survivors—a systematic review

Stephen Rajan Samuel; R Gururajan; K Vijaya Kumar; Prina Vira; P U Prakash Saxena; Justin William Wesley Keogh

doi:10.1007/s11764-020-00972-x

Back

Randomized control trial evidence for the benefits of massage and relaxation therapy on sleep in cancer survivors—a systematic review

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Randomized control trial evidence for the benefits of massage and relaxation therapy on sleep in cancer survivors—a systematic review

Stephen Rajan Samuel, R Gururajan, K Vijaya Kumar, Prina Vira, P U Prakash Saxena and Justin William Wesley Keogh

Journal of Cancer Survivorship, Vol.15(5), pp.799-810

2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11764-020-00972-x

PMCID: PMC8448699

PMID: 33269414

Appears in UniSC Diversity and Inclusion Research Collection

Files and links (2)

pdf

Randomized control trial evidence for the benefits of massage and relaxation therapy on sleep in cancer survivors—a systematic review631.85 kBDownload View

Published Version Open Access CC BY V4.0

url

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11764-020-00972-xView

Published Version

Abstract

Massage

Relaxation therapy

Sleepwake disorders

Carcinoma

UniSC Diversity Area - Disability and Inclusion

Purpose: Cancer survivors may experience sleep disturbances during and after their cancer treatments. While pharmacological approaches are commonly used to address sleep disturbances, they may have a number of adverse effects. This review studied the effect of two non-pharmacological interventions (massage and relaxation therapy) on sleep disturbances in cancer survivors. Methods: A search for randomised controlled trials (RCTs) was conducted on PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, PEDro, and CINAHL using relevant keywords. Results: The search yielded 371 articles, with 4 RCTs studying massage therapy and 3 RCTs studying relaxation therapy included for qualitative analysis. Massage therapy studies showed statistically significant improvement in self-reported sleep questionnaires and objectively recorded long sleep episodes, as assessed via an accelerometer. No significant improvements in sleep outcomes were observed in the relaxation therapy studies, although there were trends for improved self-reported sleep quality. Conclusion: While massage therapy provided by massage therapists may have some potential for improving sleep outcomes for cancer survivors, there is no such current evidence regarding relaxation therapy. Implications for Cancer Survivors Cancer survivors who experience sleep disturbances may benefit from regular sessions with a massage therapist. However, future studies should examine the long-term feasibility of massage therapist–delivered services, particularly for cancer survivors with limited finances, and determine if benefits can be obtained if massage is provided by non-certified individuals. Relaxation therapy appears to be safe for cancer survivors, but future RCTs involving larger sample sizes need to be conducted to better determine its feasibility and efficacy.

Details

Title: Randomized control trial evidence for the benefits of massage and relaxation therapy on sleep in cancer survivors—a systematic review
Authors: Stephen Rajan Samuel (Author) - Manipal Academy of Higher Education
R Gururajan (Author) - Manipal Academy of Higher Education
K Vijaya Kumar (Corresponding Author) - Kasturba Medical College
Prina Vira (Author) - Manipal Academy of Higher Education
P U Prakash Saxena (Author) - Manipal Academy of Higher Education
Justin William Wesley Keogh (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland
Publication details: Journal of Cancer Survivorship, Vol.15(5), pp.799-810
Audience: Academic
Publisher: Springer New York LLC
Date published: 2021
DOI: 10.1007/s11764-020-00972-x
ISSN: 1932-2267
PMID: 33269414; PMC8448699
Copyright note: Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Organisation Unit: University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99492508502621
Output Type: Journal article

Metrics

7 File views/ downloads

32 Record Views

26 Times Cited - Web of Science

See more details

InCites Highlights

These are selected metrics from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool, related to this output

Collaboration types: Domestic collaboration; International collaboration
Web Of Science research areas: Oncology; Social Sciences, Biomedical

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This output has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

Source: SDGs from InCites