Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27165967›Full record

SynthesisPain medicine (Malden, Mass.)2016

The Impact of Massage Therapy on Function in Pain Populations-A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials: Part II, Cancer Pain Populations.

Courtney Boyd, Cindy Crawford, Charmagne F Paat, Ashley Price, Lea Xenakis, Weimin Zhang, Evidence for Massage Therapy (EMT) Working Group

Registry-linked trialAbstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.), 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06118853 (Impact of Yoga and Gentle Massage Practices on Symptom Management in Patients Undergoing Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation at the Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein), which is not on this map. Cited by 44 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
44citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

NCT06118853 nacompletednot on this mapstarted 2023, after this paper: background citation

Impact of Yoga and Gentle Massage Practices on Symptom Management in Patients Undergoing Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation at the Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein

TypeinterventionalSponsorHospital Israelita Albert EinsteinRan2023 to 2025Enrolled35ConditionsHematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation, Bone Marrow TransplantationArmsyoga or gentle massage plus standard treatment for HSCT
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

44 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Massage for Pain: An Evidence Map.Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.) · 2019
    Pooled it
  4. Multidimensional Treatment of Cancer Pain.Current oncology reports · 2017
    Pooled it
  5. Trial
  6. Trial
  7. Trial
  8. Trial
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Review
  12. Article
  13. The Effects of Massage Therapy on Post-traumatic Stress Disorder: A Case Report.International journal of therapeutic massage & bodywork · 2025
    Article
  14. Article
  15. Review
  16. Review
  17. Review
  18. Review
  19. Review
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Courtney BoydSamueli Institute, Alexandria, Virginia, USA.
Cindy CrawfordSamueli Institute, Alexandria, Virginia, USA.
Charmagne F PaatSamueli Institute, Alexandria, Virginia, USA.
Ashley PriceSamueli Institute, Alexandria, Virginia, USA.
Lea XenakisSamueli Institute, Alexandria, Virginia, USA.
Weimin ZhangSamueli Institute, Alexandria, Virginia, USA.
Evidence for Massage Therapy (EMT) Working Group

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposePain is multi-dimensional and may be better addressed through a holistic, biopsychosocial approach. Massage therapy is commonly practiced among patients seeking pain management; however, its efficacy is unclear. This systematic review and meta-analysis is the first to rigorously assess the quality of massage therapy research and evidence for its efficacy in treating pain, function-related and health-related quality of life in cancer populations.

methodsKey databases were searched from inception through February 2014. Eligible randomized controlled trials were assessed for methodological quality using the SIGN 50 Checklist. Meta-analysis was applied at the outcome level. A diverse steering committee interpreted the results to develop recommendations.

resultsTwelve high quality and four low quality studies were subsequently included in the review. Results demonstrate massage therapy is effective for treating pain compared to no treatment [standardized mean difference (SMD)  = -.20] and active (SMD = -0.55) comparators. Compared to active comparators, massage therapy was also found to be beneficial for treating fatigue (SMD = -1.06) and anxiety (SMD = -1.24).

conclusionBased on the evidence, weak recommendations are suggested for massage therapy, compared to an active comparator, for the treatment of pain, fatigue, and anxiety. No recommendations were suggested for massage therapy compared to no treatment or sham control based on the available literature to date. This review addresses massage therapy safety, research challenges, how to address identified research gaps, and necessary next steps for implementing massage therapy as a viable pain management option for cancer pain populations.

Indexed as

MassageHumansPain ManagementRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicFunctionHealth-Related Quality of LifeMassage TherapyMeta-AnalysisPainSystematic Review

Identifiers

PMID27165967
PMCPMC4975018

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

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.