INTRODUCTION
In the pursuit of wellbeing, relaxation, and health, mankind has resorted to massage
since prehistoric times.(1) The term “massage”, probably derived from the Greek word
“massein” (to knead), today indicates a wide range of therapeutic or relaxing techniques
which uses body manipulation, alone or in combination with herbs, water, salts, and
muds.(1) Aromatherapy massage (shortened to “aroma massage”) or massage with essential
oils that are plant-derived oily substances with volatile and fragrant properties,(2)
has been practiced for many years too, mostly by diluting essential oils into a massage
carrier oil or diffusing them in the environment during the treatment.(3)
In particular, among essential oils derived from plants with sedative and calming
properties, lavender has always been known in traditional medicine as a remedy which
helps to achieve psychophysical relaxation. Evidence from in vitro and in vivo laboratory
studies indicates that lavender essential oil, whose main bioactive components are
linalool and linalyl acetate, can interact with several neuropharmacological targets,
including the serotonin transporter and the MAO-A, GABA-A, and NMDA ionotropic receptors,
thus exerting a central anxiolytic, antidepressive, and relaxing action.(3) From a
pharmacokinetic point of view, the two main bioactive compounds (linalool and linalyl
acetate) of lavender essential oil administered through massage are absorbed both
through inhalation and through skin penetration. Their blood concentrations can be
detectable 5 minutes after the massage, they tend to peak after 20 minutes, and they
are usually eliminated within 90 minutes after the end of the treatment.(4)
In general, aromatherapy massage is quite popular as a relaxing technique and has
been reported to be one of the most commonly used complementary therapy in the UK.(5)
However, evidence on its efficacy is not fully clear to date, and some reports have
cast doubts on its clinical safety.(6) The aim of the present work is to outline the
efficacy, safety, and tolerability profile of aromatherapy massage with topically
applied lavender essential oil, based on a critical overview of available scientific
evidence on the topic.
EFFICACY OF AROMA MASSAGE WITH LAVENDER OIL
Psychological Disturbances
The quantitative findings of a recently published systematic review and meta-analysis
underscore the potential efficacy of massage with lavender essential oil in the reduction
of anxiety levels, with a significant result in favor of intervention (Hedges’ g =
−0.66 [95% CI −0.97 to −0.35], p < .0001, 448 participants) after pooling data from
six randomized controlled trials.(3) The main limitations of this result was the low
average quality of evidence from included studies mostly due to the inherent difficulty
in blinding this type of research, and the presence of confounding factors, which
didn’t allow to quantify the exact contribution to the observed anxiolytic effect
of each component of the treatment (body manipulation, lavender essential oil inhalation
and skin absorption, useful placebo effects like the rituality of the treatment).(3)
However, considering that lavender essential oil administered orally has a significant
effect on anxiety levels(3) and that, after massage, its bioactive compounds (linalool
and linalyl acetate) can also be detected into the subject’s bloodstream,(4) it is
plausible to assume that a useful anxiolytic and relaxing pharmacological role of
this essential oil in aroma massage exists beyond the sole action of other treatment
components.
Clinical trials involving elderly patients affected by cardiovascular diseases underscore
the activity of aromatherapy massage with lavender essential oil not only for anxiety,
but also for depression, mood status, and sleep quality.(7,8) Results of another controlled
study also report beneficial effects of lavender aromatherapy hand massage on emotional
status and aggressive behavior in subjects with dementia,(9) thus highlighting, along
with evidence from the previously mentioned trials, an interesting role of this intervention
for elderly individuals with an impaired quality of life due to typical age-related
diseases.
With regard to early-life health conditions, in a pilot study involving 12 children
affected by autism, aroma massage with lavender oil didn’t result in any significant
amelioration of their sleep pattern and quality.(10) In this case, although the very
limited number of recruited patients might have biased study results, further investigation
is needed to assure the real effect of aroma massage with lavender oil in pediatric
patients with neurodevelopmental disorders.
Pain-related Benign Disorders
As demonstrated by a meta-analytical work, aromatherapy can prove useful for pain
management in adjunct to conventional therapies.(11) In particular, evidence from
a clinical trial involving 90 patients with knee osteoarthritis indicates the beneficial
effect of massage with lavender essential oil in terms of pain and functional status,
if compared to massage with a more inert substance like almond oil.(12) Results of
two trials involving 32 patients with non-specific subacute cervical pain and 61 patients
with lumbar pain, respectively, suggest that eight sessions of manual acupressure
with lavender oil can significantly reduce pain and improve spine mobility.(13)
Other pain-related conditions for which lavender aroma massage appears to be significantly
beneficial with regard to their symptomatic management are infantile colic,(14) dysmenorrhea,(15)
and labor-induced pain.(16) In another study, a significant decrease in pain intensity
has been experienced by a cohort of 118 elderly patients with chronic pain of various
non-malignant origin when treated with lavender aromatherapy hand massage.(17) Moreover,
massage with lavender oil has been demonstrated to be useful, along with routine treatment,
for symptomatic relief of 70 patients with restless leg syndrome due to chronic kidney
failure.(18)
Overall, aromatherapy massage with lavender essential oil appears useful for symptomatic
improvements of benign health conditions characterized by chronic or subacute pain
and impaired quality of life. It is interesting to notice that evidence obtained from
a randomized controlled trial underscores that lavender aroma massage can provide
a significant additional benefit if compared with massage alone in the symptomatic
amelioration of musculoskeletal pain due to osteoarthritis.(12) The potential role
of lavender aroma massage in pain control of gynecological or pediatric conditions
must be taken into account, given that such intervention could be useful to limit
the administration of common painkillers and, therefore, the incidence of adverse
events in these categories of patients. In general, it is plausible to hypothesize
that the analgesic action of lavender application follows its systemic absorption
and may be due to its role as a sedative compound with relaxing and anti-nociceptive
properties.(3,13)
Advanced Incurable Life-Limiting Illnesses (Palliative Care)
A recently published systematic review has explored the potential role of aroma massage
in palliative care of cancer patients, and data from five included studies suggest
that aromatherapy, reflexology, and massage, as well as building a supportive relationship
with the therapist who delivers such treatments, can enhance the subjects’ well-being
and may help them to cope psychologically with the individual disease burden.(19)
In the same work, it is also highlighted that, although the level of evidence for
the clinical efficacy of aromatherapy and massage in cancer palliative care may not
be high, such interventions are generally safe, and they are subjectively regarded
as valuable and beneficial for quality of life by patients involved in qualitative
studies.(19) In a previously published Cochrane Systematic Review on the same topic,
similar conclusions were drawn by the authors, thus suggesting that aromatherapy massage
can exert some short-term benefits on cancer patients’ psychological well-being.(5)
Nevertheless, it is reported that it is unclear whether, in this specific health condition,
aromatherapy can significantly enhance the sole effect of body manipulation.(5) Results
of a study with 100 hospitalized patients (50% of whom receiving artificial ventilation)
treated for severe conditions in an intensive care unit suggest that foot massage
with lavender oil may be capable of improving several physiological parameters on
a short term, including blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate, wakefulness,
and pain.(13) In a study involving 42 cancer patients residing in a hospice setting,
although no long-term benefits were demonstrated, massage with lavender aromatherapy
improved the subjects’ sleep quality on a short-term, but no significant additional
beneficial effect was in general found for the combination of aromatherapy with massage
if compared to massage alone.(20)
Different reasons can be hypothesized to explain these results characterized by weak
evidence in support of aroma massage, especially if compared to massage alone, including:
(a) the high level of heterogeneity and risk of bias within and across studies included
in existing reviews, (b) the limited sample size recruited in each relevant trial,
(c) the lack of adequate qualitative outcome measurements, and (d) the potentially
less pronounced sedative, analgesic, and relaxing action of lavender oil in such patients.
Nevertheless, considering the nature of intervention (easy to administer and generally
safe) and all potential short-term benefits for quality of life of patients with incurable
diseases, it may be worthwhile to investigate the topic more in depth in order to
better define the magnitude of any useful effect.
Summary and Future Perspectives
Overall, as reported by the above mentioned studies, aroma massage with lavender essential
oil may be beneficial as a complementary and integrative therapy for several health
conditions including anxiety, depression, behavioral symptoms of dementia, restless
leg syndrome, knee osteoarthritis, and non-specific back pain, as well as pain of
non-malignant origin, infantile colic, dysmenorrhea, labor-related symptoms, and impaired
well-being in cancer patients. All these heterogeneous conditions can be briefly summarized
into three main categories sharing common major features and characteristics:
Psychological disturbances;
Pain-related benign disorders; and
Advanced incurable life-limiting illnesses (palliative care).
In general, improvements especially are observed in terms of symptomatic management,
pain control, mood status, quality of life, and psychophysical relaxation. Moreover,
aromatherapy massage with lavender essential oil appears to be more beneficial (and
to add a significant additional effect beyond the action of massage alone) in non-severe
health conditions and on a relatively short term, rather than in patients with a severe
impairment of their general health status. Interesting results have been observed
not only in adults, but also in elderly subjects with common age-related cardiovascular
or neurological comorbidities. In some cases, instead of total body massage, more
localized manipulations like hand massage or foot reflexology in combination with
lavender aromatherapy may be already sufficient to exert some beneficial effects of
this intervention. However, due to the lack of high quality and adequately powered
studies, further investigations are needed before conclusions can be drawn on the
topic. Additionally, designing ad hoc trials with more adequate outcome measurements
could be useful in order to better quantify the exact general improvement of patients
who undergo complementary therapies like aroma massage, since several authors have
observed a gap between quantitative results obtained within trials and the positive
amelioration of subjective well-being as reported by involved patients in qualitative
studies.(19,20)
SAFETY AND TOLERABILITY OF AROMA MASSAGE WITH LAVENDER OIL
Overall Safety and Tolerability Profile
Aroma massage shares the same contraindications of other body manipulation techniques,
along with precautions that must be taken when handling and externally applying essential
oils.
All essential oils, regardless of the plant they are extracted from, should be carefully
administered when topically applied, and any contact with irritated or damaged skin
must be avoided.(2) Particular attention should be paid to subjects with a past history
of contact skin allergies (lavender aroma massage must be avoided in subjects who
are allergic to lavender) and, in general, with allergic diathesis and skin irritability.(13)
When externally applied, essential oils should be adequately diluted at a concentration
of 1.5%–3.0% in a carrier oil.(2) If the contact also involves the subject’s face,
the dilution should be augmented to 0.2%–1.5% in order to prevent adverse reactions
on the more sensitive face skin.(2) Contact or inhalation exposure to large amounts
of oils are to be avoided too, because of potential triggering of seizures and bronchospastic
episodes in predisposed individuals; as well, excessively long exposures should be
avoided in order to prevent hypersensitivity phenomena.(2)
Evidence from trials investigating the use of all lavender-based interventions (inhalation,
oral administration, and aroma massage) for anxiety and relaxation suggests that safety
data are poorly reported or not reported at all by most study authors. However, based
on available information, lavender administration can generally be considered as safe,
with only non-severe and reversible side effects mainly reported for oral consumption
of encapsulated essential oil.(3) In the scientific literature, a highly discussed
and controversial report describes the case of three prepubertal male subjects (aged
7 to 10 years old) who, after local applications of products containing both lavender
and tea tree oils, developed gynecomastia, which resolved after discontinuation of
intervention.(6) Further studies are needed to better investigate the safety profile
of lavender in pediatric patients. Caution is also advised in pregnant women due to
lack of safety data and unknown risk to the fetus. Moreover, strict controls by local
health authorities should prevent the production and marketing of natural remedies
contaminated by endocrine disruptors and toxic substances, or adulterated for commercial
purposes, to guarantee the best quality standards for consumers.
Summary and Future Perspectives
Existing evidence substantially outlines a good safety profile of lavender aroma massage,
which appears to be well tolerated by patients when all general precautions are followed.
However, more attention should be paid by future trial investigators in describing
all adverse events experienced by participants during the study period and in the
follow-up after intervention, in order to avoid any under-report of safety data.
CONCLUSIONS
Aroma massage with lavender essential oil may be beneficial as a complementary and
integrative therapy for the symptomatic management of various conditions, mainly psychological
disturbances and pain-related benign disorders, and possibly, in palliative care of
advanced incurable life-limiting illnesses. Some evidence interestingly underscores
significant additional benefits when aroma massage is compared with massage alone,
especially in the help of anxiety management and benign musculoskeletal pain control.
In general, studied intervention appears safe and well tolerated by patients, provided
that all precautions are followed by therapists. Further studies on the topic are
encouraged to understand better the therapeutic properties of lavender aroma massage,
especially in the pediatric population for whom available efficacy and safety data
are scarce and controversial.
Like for other CAM-based (Complementary and Alternative Medicines) interventions,
evidence is not sufficient to draw definitive conclusions on their efficacy, nor to
suggest their systematic adoption in clinical practice. The present overview on the
topic supports the usefulness and safety of lavender aroma massage in the above-listed
conditions, and, when patients look for it, they are not to be discouraged. However,
available evidence doesn’t allow to affirm with certainty that this intervention is
significantly more effective than massage alone and, to date, since the potential
additional benefits remain unquantified, lavender aroma massage cannot be actively
recommended to patients. Further randomized clinical trials ought preliminarily to
assess the efficacy of lavender when topically applied and transcutaneously absorbed
without massage, possibly adopting a condition like anxiety as a testing ground. Then,
if significant benefits are observed, it would be possible to assume that lavender
aroma massage is superior to massage alone, thus justifying future attempts to quantify
precisely these effects in dedicated trials.