Source
Department of Health Care Studies/Section Nursing Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiteit Maastricht, P.O. Box 616, 6200 MD Maastricht, the Netherlands. idu@bze7.azm.nl
Abstract
BACKGROUND:
Although guidelines advise against massage, it is one of the methods widely regarded and used by nurses to prevent pressure ulcers (PU).
OBJECTIVES:
The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of different variations of massage in preventing pressure ulcers.
METHODS:
A randomized, double-blind cross-over design, in which patients of nursing homes who are prone to PU underwent two of the three possible interventions; 'position changes only', 'massaging with an indifferent cream' and 'massaging with a dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) cream'.
RESULTS:
The results of three interventions did not differ significantly. DMSO did not fulfil the expectations raised by literature and a previous pilot-study.