Is massage beneficial to critically ill patients in intensive care units? A critical review.

In today's society there is an ever-increasing awareness of the availability of complementary therapies, both inside and outside the National Health Service (NHS). The following paper is based on a literature review to discover whether the experiences of critically ill patients in a high-technology environment may be improved by the incorporation of therapeutic massage into their nursing care, thus helping them to cope more effectively with the barrage of unfamiliarity, technology and impersonality that Intensive Care Units (ICUs) often exude.