Study finds massage improves pain, mood for those with advanced cancer

If you've ever had a massage, you probably know how good it can make you feel. Your muscles are loosened, you're relaxed, and the weight of the world has temporarily left your shoulders. According to a new study, massage may provide an especially valuable respite for patients with advanced cancer, bringing small but rapid improvements in their pain as well as their mood.

The study included 380 adults with advanced cancer who had moderate to severe pain. Most were in hospice care. They were randomly assigned to have either massage with a trained therapist or "simple touch," which involved a non-therapist placing both hands on 10 body sites for three minutes each. Patients could have up to six sessions over two weeks. They answered questions about their mood and pain before and after each session. To measure any improvements over time, patients were also asked about their pain, mood, quality of life, and use of pain medication at the beginning of the study and then weekly for three weeks.

The researchers found that patients in both groups had improvements in their pain and mood immediately after treatment, but patients who received massage improved most. The study used a 0-to-10-point scale to rate pain and mood. After massage, pain decreased by 1.87 points, on average, and mood improved by 1.58 points. After simple touch, pain decreased by 0.97 points and mood improved by 0.97 points.

Massage and simple touch didn't seem to provide lasting improvements. However, patients' overall pain, mood, and quality of life stayed relatively steady during the study, without an increase in pain medication. This is noteworthy, as patients with late-stage cancer often need more pain relief as symptoms worsen. Researchers can't be sure, though, whether massage and simple touch were responsible. Other aspects of the patients' hospice care could have helped keep their symptoms stable.

What you need to know. If you have a family member with late-stage cancer, massage might help ease their pain and give their mood a boost. This could be a comfort, even if the benefits last only for a short while. The study found no sign that massage causes any harm, but massage should always be done by a licensed massage therapist who has experience treating hospice patients or those with cancer. It's also worth noting that the simple act of gently resting hands on a person seemed to help, too. And that's something that doesn't need a qualified therapist.

—Sophie Ramsey, Patient editor, BMJ Group

ConsumerReportsHealth.org has partnered with The BMJ Group to monitor the latest medical research and assess the evidence to help you decide which news you should use.