The effects of aromatherapy massage with lavender essential oil on neuropathic pain and quality of life in diabetic patients: A randomized clinical trial

Abstract

Objective: to determine massage lavender essential oil on neuropathic pain and quality of life in diabetic patients.

Methods: A randomized three-group control trial with the pre-post design was performed from 2019 to 2020 on 75 diabetic neuropathic patients. The patients were randomly allocated into aromatherapy (n = 26), placebo (n = 26), and control (n = 26) groups. Patients in the intervention group used 2.5 cc of 3% lavender oil on their feet as a gentle massage for 10 min every night before bedtime for a month. Data collected using the Visual analog scale (VAS), Douleur Neuropathic 4 (DN4) and Quality of Life Questionnaire (SF36).

Results: The mean difference of pain scores in short-term and long-term in the aromatherapy group was significantly reduced compared to the placebo and control groups (P < 0.001). In addition, after four weeks, a significant increase was found in the QoL domains in the aromatherapy group (P < 0.001).

Conclusion: Aromatherapy massage with lavender oil helped reduce neuropathic pain two to four weeks after the intervention and improved the patients' QoL without causing any side effects. Thus, nurses are recommended to use it as a complementary method to reduce neuropathic pain and improve patients' QoL.

Keywords: Aromatherapy; Diabetes; Lavender; Neuropathy; Pain; Quality of life.