Back Rubs

Nurses General Nursing

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Just curious, do nurses give patients back rubs any longer?

That was one of my favorite therapeutic interventions 'back-in-the day'. That was before DRGS and short stays, when a patient could spend days or weeks on hard, vinyl covered mattresses and backs got sore.

Patients really responded to a good rub and were so grateful for it.

Specializes in Home Care, Primary care NP, QI, Nsg Adm.

We all have different tastes. I don't mind a back but feet....nah.

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We all have different tastes. I don't mind a back but feet....nah.

i esp target my diabetic pts feet.

leslie

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I am a labor and delivery nurse, and use massage daily. Therapeutic touch is a proven method of decreasing need for meds in pain control, aids in relaxation and a helps create a general sense of wellness and comfort. It is sad that it has become a lost art as would be effective tool that could independently be employed as a nursing intervention in any case of patient anxiety, fear, pain on any patient floor. Stress levels are high in all hospital or long term care settings. Touch and time are important gifts to our patients.

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Stress levels are high in all hospital or long term care settings. Touch and time are important gifts to our patients.

i totally agree with you.

but it needn't be exclusive to back rubs.

brushing/shampooing hair, holding a hand, massaging localized stress areas, shaving, bathing, clipping nails...

all while chatting w/your pt, are ways to provide touch, time and talk.

leslie

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Absolutely! That concentrated time is priceless, I agree, in many forms.

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I'm not an RN - yet - but I AM a CMT. If you're uncomfortable giving a back rub to someone who is receptive, maybe there's an area for SELF improvement. Spending a minute or two giving a back rub is one of the few ways to turn the sickest, most obstinate patient into a smiling pile of goo. Who wouldn't want to have THAT trick up their sleeve?

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I graduated NS last year and we weren't even taught how to give them so I don't. I do the lotion bit which should be standard care and I have helped soak many a foot and helped condition hair but I have never done a back rub nor would I without proper training. I could potentially put myself and my facility at risk for a lawsuit. I've never been asked for one nor has any patient complained they haven't gotten one.

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Specializes in ICU, Trauma, ER, Peds, Family Practice.

Back in the day I gave back rubs . I use to give back rubs , foot or hand to my patients in Critical Care.

When back rubs were a part of the evening rounds they did a study that patients used less pain meds and sleeping pills. If a patient couldnt be turned for one reason or another the food rub was always welcomed.

In our local hospice they look for volunteers or those rare nurses that will give the hospice patients a back, hand shoulder or foot massage. In fact, I have gone to massage school and have a small massage practise. Many of my patients have chronic diseases and feel very safe with me because I am a nurse.

thanks for starting this discussion.

Paddlelady:bowingpur

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Specializes in ED, Pedi Vasc access, Paramedic serving 6 towns.

Wow there is generation gap with this thread...

It is not that I wouldn't want to take the time to do the back rub thing, but I am just not a touchy feely person and it really just literally grosses me out to do a back rub on a stranger.

Sweetooth

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Specializes in Community, OB, Nursery.

I graduated nsg sch in 2001 and we were taught to give back rubs. I work mother/baby so most patients are healthy and up and about and don't stay long. Our long-term antepartum patients, though, I have offered to rub their backs. These are people on bedrest, in hospital beds for a long time, and pregnant. Backrubs are sometimes their saving grace. Not all take me up on it, but those that have are grateful.

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Specializes in cardiac.

elaboration:

It shouldn't matter who the patient is. It makes people feel good, and it is still one of the best nursing measures. It's one of the few things that we can do to make a patient a lot more comfortable (without an order) I can understand if the 40 yr old man is asking for help with the urinal, but a simple back rub is not a big deal, and that is MY opinion.

That is YOUR opinion, exactly. Doesn't make my feelings about this matter "sad". I don't think you're quite getting what I'm saying. I'm saying it makes me uncomfortable unless they're old and obviously have bad backs or have been on bedrest a while. Probably because of the leering way I've been asked, many times.

I'm sure there is a generation gap thing going on in this discussion. I don't even know how to phrase this the right way, but younger basically healthy men will interact with young attractive nurses differently than they will older motherly types. I'm sure every attractive woman on this board has been hit on more than once while on the job. I do not encourage a lot of touching for this reason. Doesn't mean I can't touch a patient, or give a back rub if it's needed; but I'm not about to offer it to any and every patient. I'm not saying I'm all that, but men can get funny ideas about nurses and sponge baths, back rubs, etc etc.

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Specializes in cardiac.

Also wanted to add, it definitely makes a difference when you look at the type of patients you are caring for most often. I'm on a cardiac unit with MIs and pre-and post-angioplasty/stents. The majority of our patients are up and ambulatory and gone within a day or two. (CHF/post CABG goes to the other cardiac floor in my hospital). If your'e up getting your own coffee and newspaper, sure a massage might feel nice but I'm not a masseuse and please don't ask me to give you one. I have lots of other things to do.

If I was working ICU I would most definitely take the time to apply lotion after bathing, and a quick rubdown of the muscles too.

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