Getting a massage after serious surgeries could be the key to reducing post-operative pain and anxiety, a recent study showed.

Researchers at the Department of Veteran’s Affair in Ann Arbor, Mich. conducted a randomized controlled trial involving 605 veterans, aged 64, or older undergoing major surgeries (chest or abdominal surgeries between 2003 and 2005).

The veterans were randomly assigned to three groups. First group of 203 veterans received standard care, while another 200 got a daily 20-minute back massage. The last group of 202 got 20 minutes of individual attention but no massage, more specific they were asked to quantify their pain and anxiety on a scale of 1 to 10.

"In patients getting massage, the acute response was equivalent to a [dose] of morphine, which was pretty remarkable," said study senior author Dr. Daniel B. Hinshaw, professor of surgery and a member of the palliative care team at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System in Michigan.

"Patients in the massage group experienced short-term decreases in pain intensity, pain unpleasantness, and anxiety. In addition, patients in the massage group experienced a faster rate of decrease in pain intensity and unpleasantness during the first four post-operative days compared with the control group,” Allison Mitchison, lead author of the study concluded.

According to researchers, massage can dilate blood vessels, raise skin temperature and relax the mind and body, which can lead to a considerable diminution of the pain. Massage may also create mood-boosting endorphins that offer a competing sensation or may even block the pain, the study said.

The first who recommended massage as an alternative to relieve the pain was Hippocrates, the Greek physician, also named the father of medicine.

The problem with giving massages is that nurses do not have time or patience to give massages, the study said.

"As health care systems have become more complex and administrative demands on nursing time have increased, the tradition of nurse-administered massage has been largely lost. Massage may potentially be a safer alternative as-needed form of pain relief. With proper training, health care providers at the bedside (especially nurses) may now have a powerful non-pharmacologic tool to directly address their patients' pain and anxiety," the researchers concluded.

The study was supported by a grant from the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Services Research and Development