Effect of Hand Massage on alleviating Pain after Abdominal Surgery

: Background: Pain considers the fifth vital signs; it is a major postoperative problem. Management of postoperative pain is vital role of nurses. Reflexology is a standalone nursing intervention that can be used to relieve pain. Hand massage, is a method of reflexology. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of hand massage on reducing pain after abdominal surgery. Design: A quasi-experimental, two groups study design was utilized. Setting: General Surgery departments at Qena University Hospitals. Sampling : Convenience sample of sixty patients according to the inclusion criteria. Tools: two tools were used including; Patients , assessment sheet and. Numeric Pain Rating Scale. Results: Main results for this study showed that 26.7% of study group and only 6.7% of control group had mild pain. In addition, 50% of study group and 66.7% of control group had moderate pain. Statistically significant differences were found among the two groups in term of level of pain immediately and 60 minutes following intervention P value = 0.001. Conclusion: Hand massage along with routine care can decrease pain among patients undergoing abdominal surgery. Recommendations: Hand massage should be included in the nursing mangement. Thus, it can be used with pharmacological approaches to manage pain following abdominal surgery.