Use of relaxation for pain relief in oncology

Abstract

This study aimed to describe the use of relaxation techniques and their benefits to reduce cancer pain. It was performed a literature review from 1993 to 2007, using the key words: pain, relaxation, cancer and nursing, in the databases Medline, Cinahl and Lilacs. Seventy-nine articles were identified, 24 of which were selected because they attended the proposed criteria. Only one of them was Brazilian; mainly written by nurses, published in North American nursing journals and distributed up to the year 2000; two of them were experience reports; one presented guidelines; one of them was a case study; ten were literature reviews and ten experiment reports. The authors used progressive muscle relaxation techniques, guided image, biofeedback, hypnosis and meditation. Such techniques reduce the perception of oncologic pain, favor the decrease of opioids, nausea, stress, insomnia and support the medication. It is important to know that nurses play a relevant role in their use for pain relief.