Effects of Massage on Pain Due to Cramp Muscle During Hemodialysis

Muscle cramp is a common complication during hemodialysis. Organ ischemia during hemodialysis is held to be a cause for that pain. Massage has been used as a factor of pain palliative and relaxation, since the past. Our aim was to determine the effects of massage on prevention or relief of frequency and intensity of hemodialysis cramps. This clinical trial study was performed on 40 patients, who had frequent muscle cramps during hemodialysis. The patients were intentionally selected. Before and after the massage, severity of pain due to muscular cramp was recorded. Analysis of these data was performed in SPSS environment, using paired-sampled T-test method and descriptive statistics. The severity and frequency of muscular cramp seen during dialysis p<0.001 reduced; mean severity of pain before intervention was 8.73, while this severity reduced to 1.7. In 19 patients (47.5%). No muscular cramps was seen during dialysis. Throwing a comparison before and after the intervention, muscular cramps in 52.5% cases proved to be of less severity during dialysis.Discussion & Whatever can be concluded from the performed research is that massage in the dialysis patients can prevent and decrease pain intensity due to muscle cramp.