Effect of therapeutic massage on insomnia and climacteric symptons in postmenopausal women

• Grant number: 09/03754-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: September 01, 2009
• End date: August 31, 2011
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Nursing - Public Health Nursing
• Principal Investigator: Lia Rita Azeredo Bittencourt
• Grantee: Denise de Souza Oliveira
• Host Institution: Escola Paulista de Medicina (EPM). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus São Paulo. São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Physiological and psychological alterations in the climacteric period frequently influence women's quality of life. Nearly 80% of women present some kind of clinical symptom and in 40% of cases the symptoms are sufficiently intense to lead to the seeking of medical assistance. The most common symptoms are vasomotor instability, nervousness, anxiety, irritability, depression and insomnia, all significantly detrimental to well-being. Insomnia is highly prevalent and affects between 28% and 63% of postmenopausal women. Hot flashes, nycturia, mood alterations, respiratory disturbances and restless leg syndrome affect the prevalence of sleep disturbances, in addition to the altered hormonal state in this period and the aging process. As hormonal therapy is not indicated in some cases, the search for complementary therapies is increasing, massage therapy being among these. The growth of integrative medicine is known of not only in developing countries, but also in countries such as the United States. In the 1990s, 425 million Americans visited alternative therapists and collectively spent 12 billion dollars in non-critically tested health interventions.