Effect of Massage on Sleep Disturbances of Children after Abdominal Surgeries

After abdominal surgery, sleep patterns are usually disturbed. Eighty-four post-operative pediatric patients were randomized into two groups; intervention and control. Children in the study group received massage intervention for 3 days postoperatively. The study concluded that the children in the study group improved and experienced more relief of sleep disturbances after surgery. The differences were statistically significant (p < .001) for the massage intervention group and showed a non-significant trend for control group. The findings reported that the sleep disturbances of abdominal postoperative children were improved and the sleep/wake cycle was regulated with sessions of massage, although the results are based on a study with a relatively small number of patients. However, this should be confirmed in future studies. [Safy S. Al-Rafay and Eman A. Ali. Effect of Massage on Sleep Disturbances of Children after Abdominal Surgeries. J Am Sci 2013;9(12):626-632]. (ISSN: 1545-1003). http://www.jofamericanscience.org. 81