Effect of Massage Therapy With and Without Elastic Bandaging on Pain, Edema, and Shoulder Dysfunction After Modified Radical Mastectomy: A Clinical Trial

Objectives: Pain and shoulder dysfunction are among the adverse and prevalent conditions in post-mastectomy women. Therefore, the present study aimed to examine massage therapy with and without elastic bandaging on pain, edema, and shoulder dysfunction after modified radical mastectomy. Materials and Methods: This was a clinical trial conducted at Imam Reza hospital, Tabriz, Iran, from December 22, 2018, to May 5, 2019. Ninety women participated in this study and were randomly divided into three groups of 30 (i.e., Manual lymph drainage, Manual lymph drainage plus reduced-compression bandaging, and control) based on a random number table. Patients and their companions were instructed on the intervention to be performed at home on a daily basis 24 hours after surgery with the help of a trained research assistant. Data were entered in the relevant forms before and after the intervention, including demographic information, shoulder pain and dysfunction index (SPDI), and edema checklist. Data were analyzed through descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA, and the Kruskal-Wallis test in SPSS 19. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The comparison of the main variables between the three groups before and after the intervention showed no statistically significant difference (P > 0.0560). The intervention could significantly change pain intensity and shoulder movement limitation (P = 0.001). However, there was no difference in the edema variable before and after the intervention (P = 0.25). Conclusions: In general, massage therapy with and without elastic bandaging had a positive effect on shoulder movement limitation and pain whereas it had no such effect on edema drainage.