ArticleIranian journal of nursing and midwifery research2014
The effect of massage therapy on the quality of sleep in breast cancer patients.
Article in Iranian journal of nursing and midwifery research, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 33 citations in OpenAlex.
- Harms of massage in persons with cancer or receiving treatment for cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2026Pooled it
- Efficacy of non-pharmacological interventions on sleep quality in patients with cancer-related insomnia: a network meta-analysis.Frontiers in neurology · 2024Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Trial
- Forming a Stress Management and Health Promotion Program for Women Undergoing Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.Integrative cancer therapies · 2016Trial
- Comparing Massage, Acupressure, and Combined Therapy for Managing Cancer-related Pain, Fatigue, and Sleep Disturbance: A 2 × 2 Factorial Randomized Controlled Trial.International journal of therapeutic massage & bodywork · 2025Article
- The Impact of Relaxation Massage Prior to Bedtime on Sleep Quality and Quantity in People with Symptoms of Chronic Insomnia: A Home-Based Sleep Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Comparison of the Effect of Reflexology and Swedish Massage on Restless Legs Syndrome and Sleep Quality in Patients Undergoing Hemodialysis: a Randomized Clinical Trial.International journal of therapeutic massage & bodywork · 2022Article
- Sleep disturbance in cancer patients referred to an ambulatory integrative oncology consultation.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2022Article
- A Series of Case Reports Regarding the Use of Massage Therapy to Improve Sleep Quality in Individuals with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).International journal of therapeutic massage & bodywork · 2019Article
- Massage therapy research review.Complementary therapies in clinical practice · 2016Review
- Evaluating the use of gas discharge visualization to measure massage therapy outcomes.Journal of complementary & integrative medicine · 2015Article
- Effect of stress inoculation training on the levels of stress, anxiety, and depression in cancer patients.Iranian journal of nursing and midwifery researchArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAnnually, about 6000 new cases are diagnosed with breast cancer in Iran. In Iran, more women are affected with breast cancer than a decade earlier in comparison with other countries, and 70% of them are diagnosed at an advanced phase. Insomnia is the most common disorder following breast cancer, and interference in sleep quality and rest causes changes in physiological functions and reduces the body's daily performance. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of massage therapy on the quality of sleep in patients with breast cancer. MATERIALS AND
methodsThis clinical trial was conducted for about 1 month in a referral chemotherapy clinic of a teaching hospital in Isfahan, Iran. The participants consisted of 57 women with breast cancer who were selected by simple random sampling. They were randomly assigned to two groups of control and experimental. The control group was treated only by usual medical therapy, whereas the case group was treated by combined medical-massage therapy. Data collection tools were the validated Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and a demographic questionnaire. Data were analyzed by SPSS using descriptive statistics, Chi-square test, paired t-test, and Student's t-test.
resultsThe results showed significant differences in the mean scores of quality of sleep before and after the intervention in the case group, while no significant differences were observed in the mean scores of quality of sleep before and after the intervention in the control group. In addition, no significant differences were observed in the mean scores of quality of sleep before the intervention between case and control groups. However, significant differences were observed in the mean scores of quality of sleep after the intervention between case and control groups.
conclusionAccording to the results of this study, learning and applying massage techniques by medical staff causes health promotion and improves the quality of sleep in cancer patients. Furthermore, massage therapy is suggested as a non-pharmacologic method to improve sleep quality in these patients.
Indexed as
Identifiers
24834078PMC4020018W1585328751What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.