The Effects of Thai Massage by Husbands on Back Pain Relief and Marital Relationships During Pregnancy

Abstract

This quasi-experimental study was aimed tocompare the effects of Thai massage which performedby pregnantûs husband on back pain relief and maritalrelationships. Forty pregnant women with gestationalaged between 27 to 36 weeks who had back painwere participated in this study by a purposive samplingmethod.  The sample was divided into two groups,equally. The control group received regular nursingcare and experimental group received Thai massagepreformed by pregnantûs husband at least 2 sessionsper week. The degree of back pain and maritalrelationship scores were compared twice, at the firstcontact and 2 weeks later. Research instrumentscomprised of demographic data correcting form,numeric rating scale for back pain intensity which testedreliability by using test-retest technique  with pearsonûscorrelation coefficient = 0.95, and  marital relationshipquestionaires with a cronbrachûs alpha coefficient= 0.73. The findings of this study showed  that:1. Scores of back pain in the experimentalgroup after received Thai massage performed byhusbands was significantly lower than those obtainedbefore receiving Thai massage (p < 0.001) and lowerthan those of the control group after treatment(p < 0.001).2. Scores on marital relationships in theexperimental group was significantly higher than thoseobtained before the Thai massage (p < 0.001) andhigher than those of the control group after treatment(p < 0.05).It was concluded that home-based Thaimassage, as practiced by husband could reliefdiscomfort from back pain and promote maritalrelationships in pregnant women. It could be an This quasi-experimental study was aimed tocompare the effects of Thai massage which performedby pregnantûs husband on back pain relief and maritalrelationships. Forty pregnant women with gestationalaged between 27 to 36 weeks who had back painwere participated in this study by a purposive samplingmethod.  The sample was divided into two groups,equally. The control group received regular nursingcare and experimental group received Thai massagepreformed by pregnantûs husband at least 2 sessionsper week. The degree of back pain and maritalrelationship scores were compared twice, at the firstcontact and 2 weeks later. Research instrumentscomprised of demographic data correcting form,numeric rating scale for back pain intensity which testedreliability by using test-retest technique  with pearsonûscorrelation coefficient = 0.95, and  marital relationshipquestionaires with a cronbrachûs alpha coefficient= 0.73. The findings of this study showed  that:1. Scores of back pain in the experimentalgroup after received Thai massage performed byhusbands was significantly lower than those obtainedbefore receiving Thai massage (p < 0.001) and lowerthan those of the control group after treatment(p < 0.001).2. Scores on marital relationships in theexperimental group was significantly higher than thoseobtained before the Thai massage (p < 0.001) andhigher than those of the control group after treatment(p < 0.05).It was concluded that home-based Thaimassage, as practiced by husband could reliefdiscomfort from back pain and promote maritalrelationships in pregnant women. It could be an alternative method for antenatal care.