Effectiveness of swedish massage therapy on blood pressure among patients with hypertension at saveetha medical college hospital

Aim of the study: to determine the effectiveness of Swedish massage therapy on blood pressure among patients with hypertension in experimental group. Background: High blood pressure (BP) is a major public health problem in India and its prevalence is rapidly increasing among both urban and rural populations. In fact, hypertension is the most prevalent chronic disease in India. The higher the pressure in blood vessels the harder the heart has to work in order to pump blood. If left uncontrolled, hypertension can lead to a heart attack, an enlargement of the heart and eventually heart failure. Design: The Quasi experimental- pre-test post-test control group design. Methods: Non probability convenience sampling technique was used. A total of 60 patients samples who met the inclusion criteria were selected for the study. Out of 60 samples, 30 in the experimental group and 30 in the control group were assigned. The demographic variables were collected by using structured questionnaire and pre-test level of blood pressure was measured by using sphygmomanometer for the both group. The experimental group patients were given Swedish massage for 20 minutes twice a day for 5 consecutive days and the control group patients was continued the routine care. Result: The findings of the study reveals that in the experimental group, majority of the hypertensive patients 10(33.33%) were in the age group of 61-70 years, 17(56.67%) were residing in rural area, 12(40%) were illiterates, 28(93.33%) were married, 12(40%) were unemployed and private employee respectively and 18(60%) had Stage I hypertension and 16(53.33%) had BMI in the range of 18.5 – 24.9 (normal). Whereas in the control group, majority of the hypertensive patients 12(40%) were in the age group of 61–70 years, 18(60%) were residing in rural area, 14(46.67%) were illiterates, 26(86.67%) were married, 14(46.67%) were unemployed, 18(60%) had Stage I hypertension and 14(46.67%) had BMI in the range of 18.5– 24.9 (normal) and 25 – 29.9 (overweight) respectively. The pretest the mean score of systolic BP was 137.33±11.27 and the post-test mean score was 130.66±6.12. The calculated paired ‘t’ value of t = 5.637 was found to be statistically highly significant at p<0.001 level in the patients of experimental group. This clearly indicates that Swedish massage was found effective in reducing the level of blood pressure among patients with hypertension in the experimental group. Conclusions: The finding illustrated that Swedish massage is a simple non- pharmacological and cost effective method. It is effective in reducing blood pressure among hypertension patients.