Effects of Anma massage therapy (Japanese massage) for gynecological cancer survivors: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Massagem e Reiki para redução de estresse e melhoria de qualidade de vida: ensaio clínico randomizado

RESUMO Objetivo Verificar se a Massagem (técnica Anmá) seguida de repouso ou Reiki auxilia na redução dos níveis de estresse e na melhoria da qualidade de vida de indivíduos atendidos em um ambulatório de práticas integrativas. Método Ensaio clínico controlado randomizado conduzido com 122 indivíduos randomizados em três grupos: G1 – Massagem seguida de repouso, G2 – Massagem seguida de Reiki e G3 – controle (sem intervenção). Os níveis de estresse e Qualidade de Vida foram mensurados por meio dos instrumentos LSS e SF-12v2, os quais foram aplicados antes e após intervenção. Resultados Finalizou-se o estudo com 101 participantes. As Massagens seguidas de repouso (G1) ou de Reiki (G2) se mostraram efetivas na redução dos níveis de estresse e melhoria de qualidade de vida quando comparadas ao Grupo Controle (G3). Os melhores resultados obtidos pelo grupo que recebeu Massagem seguida de Reiki (G2) foram observados no domínio mental de qualidade de vida, enfatizando a abrangência dos efeitos do Reiki sobre os aspectos mentais e psicológicos. Conclusão A Massagem seguida de repouso e a Massagem seguida pela aplicação de Reiki se mostraram efetivas na redução dos níveis de estresse e melhoria de qualidade de vida. Registro Brasileiro de Ensaios Clínicos: RBR-42c8wp.

Effects of Anma therapy (Japanese massage) on health-related quality of life in gynecologic cancer survivors: A randomized controlled trial

Objectives

Anma therapy (Japanese massage therapy, AMT) significantly reduces the severity of physical complaints in survivors of gynecologic cancer. However, whether this reduction of severity is accompanied by improvement in health-related quality of life is unknown.

Methods

Forty survivors of gynecologic cancer were randomly allocated to either an AMT group that received one 40-min AMT session per week for 8 weeks or a no-AMT group. We prospectively measured quality of life by using the Japanese version of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer QLQ-C30 version 3.0 (EORTC QLQ-C30) at baseline and at 8-week follow-up. The QLQ-C30 response rate was 100%. Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS), Profile of Mood States (POMS), and Measure of Adjustment to Cancer were also prespecified and prospectively evaluated.

Results

The QLQ-C30 Global Health Status and Quality of Life showed significant improvement at 8 weeks (P = 0.042) in the AMT group compared with the no-AMT group, and the estimated mean difference reached a minimal clinically important difference of 10 points (10.4 points, 95% CI = 1.2 to 19.6). Scores on fatigue and insomnia showed significant improvement in the AMT group compared with the no-AMT group (P = 0.047 and 0.003, respectively). There were no significant between-group improvements in HADS anxiety and depression scales; however, POMS-assessed anger-hostility showed significant improvement in the AMT group compared with the no-AMT group (p = 0.028).

Conclusions

AMT improved health-related quality of life in gynecologic cancer survivors. AMT can be of potential benefit for applications in oncology.

Physical effects of Anma therapy (Japanese massage) for gynecologic cancer survivors: A randomized controlled trial

OBJECTIVES

Cancer survivors often have physical and psychological complaints after standard cancer treatment. We conducted a randomized control trial to evaluate the physical and psychological/emotional effects of Anma therapy (Japanese massage, AMT) in gynecologic cancer survivors. The primary objective was to verify the effects of 8 consecutive weeks of weekly AMT. The secondary objective was to confirm the immediate effects of single-session AMT. We report here results of the physical effects of AMT.

METHODS

Forty participants were randomly allocated to an AMT group that received one 40-min AMT session per week for 8weeks and a no-AMT group. The primary endpoint was severity of subjective physical complaints assessed using a visual analogue scale (VAS). Secondary endpoints were urine and saliva analyses and psychological/emotional questionnaire scores.

RESULTS

In the primary analysis, least-squares means (LSM) estimates of VAS score improvement over the 8weeks were -21.5 (95% confidence interval [CI], -30.1 to -12.8, P=0.0017) in the AMT group (n=20) and 0.8 (95%CI, -7.7 to 9.2, P=0.89) in the no-AMT group (n=20). The difference in the LSM estimates between the groups was -22.2 (95%CI, -34.4 to -10.1, P=0.0007). There were significant differences in VAS score and urinary epinephrine between before and after the intervention session, demonstrating the superiority of AMT.

CONCLUSIONS

A single AMT session reduces the severity of subjective physical complaints and might inhibit the sympathetic nervous system in gynecologic cancer survivors. Receiving weekly AMT sessions for eight weeks effectively continues to reduce the severity of subjective physical complaints.