Massage for Caregivers of Terminally Ill Patients (Research, Video 3:35 mins.)

Many say that what caregivers need most is caregiving. Relatives caring for the terminally ill at home are particularly in need of support to improve their own quality of life. One form of nurturing for caregivers that reduces their levels of stress is soft tissue massage (hand or foot). This strategy has demonstrated beneficial results for caregiving relatives of patients receiving palliative home care.

In research reported in the “Journal of Clinical Nursing,” nineteen relatives received soft tissue massage nine times (25 minutes) in their homes. After all the sessions were completed, relatives participated in a tape-recorded interview about their massage experiences. They reported that the soft-tissue massages gave them feelings of being cared for, body vitality, and peace of mind. For a while, they experienced the freedom of being worry-free.

These positive results from having massages were experienced by all participants. Soft tissue massages can play an important role in palliative care by providing supplementary benefits in supporting caring relatives.

This video titled “Hand Massage Lesson by Health-Choices Massage School” demonstrates how a hand massage is done.

Frances Shani Parker, Author

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