RECENT RESEARCH treatment or combined with the standard ones to improve health-related quality of life of cancer patients . Laughter yoga has predominantly been used as a complementary therapy to enhance health and wellbeing of ordinary people and patients with chronic diseases . However , to date , few studies have evaluated the effects of this modern exercise on cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy in clinical settings , to the best of the authors ’ knowledge . the present study aimed to investigate the effects of Laughter Yoga on the healthrelated quality of life of cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy .
Methods : This study was a two-group randomized clinical trial on 69 cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy at Reza Radiotherapy and Oncology Center , Iran in 2018 . Patients were randomly divided into intervention and control groups . The intervention group received laughter yoga for four sessions at oneweek intervals . Each session consists of one part and lasts for 20 – 30 min . Patients ’ health-related quality of life was assessed before and after the laughter yoga sessions using Quality of Life Questionnaire European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer ( EORTC QLQ-C30 ) version 3.0 . SPSS Statistics ( v . 20 software was used to conduct Chi-square , independent t-test , Mann-Whitney , Wilcoxon and paired t-tests analyses of the data .
Results : The number of participants in intervention and control groups were 34 and 35 , there was no significant difference of demographic and disease related characteristics and pre-intervention HRQOL between two groups . In the intervention group , there is significant difference between pre- and postintervention scores ( Mean ± Standard Deviation ) of emotional functioning ( 12.99 ± 10.49 ), physical functioning ( 0.78 ± 6.08 ), role functioning ( 3.43 ± 7.97 ), fatigue ( -8.82 ± 22.01 ), pain ( -8.33 ± 11.78 ), sleep disturbance ( -15.68 ± 18.77 ), and global health and quality of life ( 6.37 ± 5.04 ) ( p < 0.05 ). There was no significant change in the control group . Participants reported no adverse events .
Conclusions : A structured laughter yoga intervention in a hospital setting effectively improved health-related quality of life for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy . Benefits to many patients could be expected if this would become a part of routine care .
Trial Registration : This study was registered in the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials ( no . IRCT20180429039463N1 ) on 21 / 08 / 2018 .
Massage , myotherapy and other bodywork
da Silva FC , Vieira LS , Santos LV , Gaudreault N , Cruvinel-Júnior RH , Santos GM . Effectiveness of visceral fascial therapy targeting visceral dysfunctions outcome : Systematic review of randomized controlled trials . BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies . 2023 ; 23 , Article number : 274 .
Background : Fascial Therapy is an ancient and widespread practice throughout the world . These approaches are very common in osteopathic practice and taught in workshops for professionals from different areas of health care , including Physiotherapy . This type of treatment is quite specialized and centered on the therapist . However , there is a lack of high-quality and lowrisk bias studies that justify the use of this practice . Despite this , there is little scientific evidence about the effectiveness of Fascial Therapy to treat some visceral disorders . The purpose of this study was to critically appraise the scientific literature concerning the clinical efficacy of techniques used in Fascial Therapy targeting the visceral system .
Methods : This systematic review included randomized controlled trials in any language or date of publication . All primary outcomes reported were included . The methodological quality and statistical reporting of each eligible trial were evaluated using the version 2 of the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool for randomized trials ( RoB 2 ). This systematic review provided a synthesis of current evidence on the effects of Fascial Therapy in patients with visceral disorders and / or pain . A total of 11 studies were included , with five of them covering gastrointestinal dysfunction , two covering cardiorespiratory dysfunction , two covering musculoskeletal dysfunction , and two covering urogenital dysfunction .
Results : Fascial Therapy targeting the visceral system has been shown to be effective in reducing pain over the long term in people with low back pain when combined with standard physical therapy and effective in reducing gastroesophageal reflux symptoms over the short term . Considering the overall bias , six studies were at high risk of bias , two studies had some concerns and only three studies were at low risk of bias . Of the three studies with a low risk of bias , only two showed positive results and were effective in improving the studied outcome .
Conclusion : This systematic review shows that currently , there is poor evidence for the efficacy of the techniques used in Fascial Therapy targeting the visceral system , and this information can help healthcare professionals in decision-making related to the use of Fascial Therapy targeting the visceral system in patients with visceral disorders and / or pain .
Pryde K ; Brusco N ; O ' Callaghan C ; Baird A ; Moore R ; White J ; Bull C ; Lee AL ; Michael N . Caregiver delivered massage therapy options in inpatient palliative care : A mixed methods exploratory study . Complement Ther Clin Pract . 2022 ; 49 .
Background and purpose : Massage therapy can benefit palliative care inpatients and this intervention could be provided by trained caregivers in this setting . This study aimed to determine the feasibility and acceptance of caregiver massage therapy , to explore patients ' and caregivers ' experience of massage therapy , and examine staff perspectives about caregiver massage therapy in palliative care .
Materials and methods : This was a mixed methods , convergent , study
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