The Effect of Massage Therapy on Autonomic Activity in Critically Ill Children
Table 3
One-session massage effect on heart rate variability.
HRV values
Mean (95% CI) ()
values
Baseline (B)
During massage (D)
After massage (A)
Repeated measures ANOVA
Pairwise comparison
B~D
B~A
D~A
lnHF
1.63 (0.26 to 3.01)
2.02 (0.65 to 3.39)
1.69 (0.38 to 2.99)
0.03
0.04
1
0.05
lnLF
2.44 (1.13 to 3.76)
2.78 (1.5 to 4.07)
2.59 (1.39 to 3.78)
0.046
0.026
1
0.34
Normalized HF, n.u.
0.33 (0.23 to 0.44)
0.33 (0.24 to 0.42)
0.32 (0.22 to 0.43)
0.9
NA
NA
NA
Normalized LF, n.u.
0.67 (0.56 to 0.77)
0.67 (0.58 to 0.76)
0.68 (0.57 to 0.78)
0.9
NA
NA
NA
LF/HF
3.28 (1.98 to 4.59)
3.34 (2.22 to 4.45)
3.81 (2.1 to 5.52)
0.54
NA
NA
NA
HRV: heart rate variability; HF: high frequency; LF: low frequency. Normalized HF: HF/(HF + LF); normalized LF: LF/(HF + LF). B (baseline): five minutes before massage; D (during massage): the mean of five-minute intervals during massage process; A (after massage): five minutes after massage.
