Court-type Traditional Thai Massage and Hot Herbal Compress: Effectiveness in Relieving Early Postpartum Backache

Abstract

  Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of the court-type Thai traditional massage and hot herbal compress in addition to the standard management for the relief of back pain during the early postpartum period
(within 24 hours after having given birth).
  Methods: One hundred patients were randomly divided into two groups. The test group was treated with court-type Thai traditional massage and hot herbal compress for 60 minutes. The control group received only standard postpartum management. Patients were asked to rate the intensity of their back pain using a pain numeric rating scale before and after treatment.
  Results: Before receiving treatment, the pain intensity was equal among the two groups [5(5-6) and 5(5-6); p>0.365]. When comparing the pain intensity after having received treatment, the difference between the groups showed statistical significance: [4(3-4.25) and 5(3.75-5.25); p<0.001]. The difference of the median of pain intensity between the groups also showed statistical significance [2(1-3) and 0(0-2);p<0.001], but this
showed no clinical significance. The great majority (82%) of patients in the treatment group reported a high level of satisfaction (8-10). There was no report of any side effect.
  Conclusions: The addition of the court-type Thai traditional massage and hot herbal compress to the standard management can modestly relieve back pain in women with moderate back pain. The improvement in pain score was statistically significant when compared with the control group but there was no clinical significance. The patients were very satisfied and no side effect was reported.