英文摘要 |
Background: Previous studies have demonstrated the efficacy of Swedish massage for blood pressure (BP)reduction. However, data of the frequency and duration of Swedish massage therapy were scarce and heterogeneous.Objectives: This preliminary study investigated the efficacy of a 6-week Swedish massage program on thereduction of BP in participants with pre-hypertension and stage-I hypertension.Methods: This study used a randomized, controlled, parallel-group design. Between 2013 and 2014, 36 patientswere recruited from cardiovascular clinics of a teaching hospital in Central Taiwan. The group assignment was maskedto the outcome assessor. The primary outcome was the systolic blood pressure (SBP) and the secondary outcome wasthe diastolic BP (DBP). The outcomes were assessed at baseline (Week 1) and after the completion of intervention(Week 6).Results: SBP significantly decreased after completing the 6 sessions of treatment in the massage group but not inthe control group. A significantly difference in SBP reduction between the two groups was revealed from analysis ofcovariance using the change in SBP as the dependent variable, baseline SBP as the covariate, and group as theindependent variable. By contrast, DBP remained unchanged in both of the groups. The changes in DBP from baselineto posttest were not significantly different between groups.Conclusion: The changes in SBP from baseline to posttest were significantly different between groups afteradjustment of baseline SBP. Swedish massage exerted a specific treatment effect in reducing SBP in individuals withprehypertension and stage I hypertension. |