Aim: To identify the effectiveness of a combined intervention of 25° upper body elevation and hand massage in patients undergoing radiofrequency catheter ablation.
Design: A quasi-experimental study using a non-equivalent control group pre-test-post-test design.
Methods: A total of 46 participants were assigned to an intervention group (N = 21) and a control group (N = 25). To test the effectiveness of the combined intervention, the major variables were low back pain and discomfort, including physical, psychological and environmental factors.
Results: The control group had low back pain, and the physical, psychological and environmental discomfort scores increased over time, whereas the experimental group showed low back pain, and the physical, psychological and environmental discomfort scores were statistically significantly decreased. The combined intervention can be applied in clinical practice not only in patients who have undergone radiofrequency catheter ablation but also in those who require an immobile position due to puncture of a femoral blood vessel.
Keywords: catheter ablation; low back pain; massage.
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