Clinical massage can have an immediate effect on patients' self-reported pain and anxiety scores, while guided imagery recordings can help put patients at ease in the hospital, according to a study in Critical Care Nurse.
During the study at Beaumont Hospital-Troy (Mich.), patients on one floor of the progressive care unit were offered a free, 15-minute clinical massage daily Monday through Friday, while patients on another floor of the unit had access to a 30-minute guided imagery recording.
While the 288 patients who used the interventions represent a small percentage of the patients in the unit, they reported significant improvements in pain, anxiety and insomnia.
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For instance, more than 80 percent of patients indicated a decrease in pain of at least one point as well as a decrease in anxiety of at least one point on the pain scale after a massage.
Of the 45 patients who used guided imagery sessions, 80 percent said the intervention helped in some way.
"These interventions can be a practical, cost-effective way of improving patient care, but patients and staff alike first need to know more about them and the potential benefits," said Gail Patricolo, director if integrative medicine at Beaumont.