Context: Agitation, aggression, stress, and anxiety are common in patients with dementia. Another essential feature of dementia is a significant decline in a patient's cognitive ability, and communicating among patients through language becomes virtually ineffective. Scientists have examined techniques to maintain communication with patients with dementia at a basic level, such as through gentle touch in the form of massage.
Objective: The literature review intended to examine the role of massage therapy, either alone or in conjunction with other nonpharmacological interventions such as aromatherapy or calming music, in attenuating aggression and related behavioral disorders in patients with dementia.
Design: The research team performed a literature review, searched the PubMed database, using different keyword combinations, including massage, message AND aromatherapy, dementia, agitation, stress, and anxiety.
Setting: The study was performed in China-Japan Union Hospital of Jilin University (Changchun, China).
Results: The employment of massage therapy, either alone or in combination with aromatherapy or calming music, can significantly decrease agitation, aggression, stress, and anxiety in patients with dementia. Moreover, massage therapy can also be beneficial for nursing personnel involved in taking care of patients with dementia. The combination of massage with aromatherapy seems to impart the most significant results in patients with dementia.
Conclusion: Massage therapy may be a useful nonpharmacological intervention in nursing profession to control agitation and stress in patients with dementia.