The Effect of Swedish Massage on Relieving Fatigue of Children with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Undergoing Chemotherapy

Background: Fatigue is the most annoying side effect of cancer treatment in children who&nbsp;experience it from the time of diagnosis till conclusion of therapy. About 75% to 90% of children&nbsp;undergoing chemotherapy suffer from this complication. To relieve this problem, massage&nbsp;therapy is recommended which is the most widely applied adjuvant therapy. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of Swedish massage on fatigue relieve in children aged 7-12&nbsp;years suffering from acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) who are undergoing chemotherapy at&nbsp;the Children&rsquo;s Medical Center of Tehran, Iran. Methods: In this clinical trial, 50 children with ALL undergoing chemotherapy were assigned&nbsp;into 2 groups of intervention and control. First, the severity of fatigue in both groups was&nbsp;measured employing a child fatigue scale questionnaire. Then, in the intervention group, the&nbsp;Swedish massage with the effleurage technique was applied by the child&rsquo;s mother daily for 4&nbsp;weeks. The fatigue in both groups was measured at the end of each week. The obtained data were&nbsp;analyzed, using descriptive and inferential statistics (repeated measures analysis). Results: Indicated a significant difference in total score of quality of life and the mean score of&nbsp;fatigue between two groups after intervention (P<0.001). The mean score of fatigue intensity and&nbsp;total score of quality of life, had significant decrease in experimental group than control group&nbsp;after intervention. Conclusion: Considering the results of this study, applying the Swedish massage by the mother&nbsp;as a supplemental and non-invasive intervention can be effective in reducing fatigue in children&nbsp;suffering from ALL who are undergoing chemotherapy.