The Effect of Massage Therapy to Control Night Shift Related Stress

Summary

Background:

The sympathetic and parasympathetic branches (SNS and PNS) of the autonomic nervous system (ANS), keep our body in a state of balance, which can be disturbed in situations of uncontrolled stress. Sleep deprivation and specifically night shift is a source of stress with adverse consequences on sleep, wakefulness, eating patterns and cardio-vascular function. Furthermore, imbalanced autonomic profile is also associated with increased inflammation, a known risk factor for cardiac problems, diabetes, and cancer.

Parasympathetic stimulation can control the inflammatory reaction, leading research toward interventions which can stimulate the cholinergic pathway. Among these interventions, massage therapy has shown to stimulate the PNS and bring back the balance within the body's organs.

Objectives:

1. To assess the physiological effects of night shifts on the ANS profile and bio-markers of inflammation and stress in blood
2. To assess whether one session of massage therapy can revert the adverse effects of night shift via re-balancing these components.

Methods:

A pilot prospective randomized crossover trial with 10 healthy hospital staff is in progress:

Each participants will be their own control. All participants will be measured for their baseline characteristics and outcomes of interest on a regular working day as well as at the end of 2 nights of shift work. At the end of one shift they will be randomly assigned to receive a 30-minute-long "upper body massage", while at the end of the other shift they will receive a "reading intervention" which would serve as a control intervention. Randomization is done using a computer system that also verifies inclusion-exclusion criteria before allocating the intervention.

The autonomic profile is measured by spectral analysis of Heart Rate Variability (HRV) captured by a state-of-the-art machine which non-invasively records electrical signals from the body. The inflammatory markers in the blood are also measured using top-notch laboratory technology.

The results of the study will be reported by comparing the outcomes of each subject with their own baseline as well as comparing the two interventions for the effect of massage. Data will be pooled for all subjects in order to show the overall effect.

The final results of this study will be used to plan stress management intervention trials.

Conditions

• Stress

Interventions

OTHER

Massage Therapy

Intervention consists of administering a 30-minute-long upper body massage by a registered massage therapist following a massage protocol developed by Vancouver College of Massage Therapy (VCMT).

OTHER

Journal reading (No massage therapy)

Intervention consists of journal reading in the same sitting position as the massage therapy session for approximately 30 minutes.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Registered Massage Therapists Association of British Columbia

  collaborator OTHER

• University of British Columbia

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Jean-Paul Collet, MD, PhD · Children's & Women's Health Centre of British Columbia

• Mir Sohail Fazeli, MD, PhD Candidate · The University of British Columbia

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Masking

NONE

Model

CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age

20 Years

Max Age

60 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2014-02-28

Primary Completion

2016-06-30

Completion

2016-06-30

Countries

• Canada

Study Locations