The effect of slow-stroke back massage on chemotherapy-related fatigue in women with breast cancer: An assessor blinded, parallel group, randomized control trial

Abstract

ObjectiveThis randomized controlled parallel-group trial was conducted to investigate the effect of slow-stroke back massage (SSBM) on the level of fatigue in women with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy. MethodsSixty-four women with breast cancer receiving chemotherapy were randomly assigned to SSBMG (n:32), who received SSBM, and CG (n:32), who received routine treatment only. Women with breast cancer in the intervention group received SSBM for a total of 20 min, 10 min before and after each chemotherapy infusion (2nd, 3rd, and 4th cycle). The Brief Fatigue Inventory (BFI) was completed before and after three cycles of chemotherapy (2nd, 3rd, and 4th) to assess the level of fatigue in women with breast cancer. ResultsAfter using SSBM, the BFI score was significantly lower in SSBMG than in CG (p 0.001) at all three-time points (1st, 2nd, and 3rd-time points). While the within-group change (Δ) in SSBMG differed significantly between time points (p = 0.018, η2 = 0.14), in contrast, the within-group change (Δ) in CG was found not to differ between time points. ConclusionThis study has shown that SSBM, one of the non-pharmacological methods, has a positive effect on the level of fatigue in women with breast cancer.