Efficacy of Oketani Massage and Therapeutic Massage among Lactating Mothers with Breast Engorgement

Introduction: Breast engorgement, a painful condition affecting large number of women in their early post-partum phase that cause discomfort to the mother and also interfere with the baby’s ability to latch and nurse at the breast. Aim: To determine the effect of Oketani massage and Therapeutic massage among Lactating mothers with breast engorgement. Methods: A total of 70 post-partum mothers diagnosed with breast engorgement were included into the study. They were randomly allocated into two groups; Oketani massage (OK) group (n=35) received Oketani massage along with Therapeutic Ultrasound therapy while Therapeutic massage (TM) group (n=35) were treated with conventional massage technique along with therapeutic ultrasound therapy. Outcomes were assessed through Numerical Pain Rating Scale and SPSRBE scale and the value were recorded. Results: The study revealed that both the groups had a significant improvement in the outcomes while the OK group had better levels in reducing pain and tenderness when compared to TM group. The OK group showed a significant improvement in the outcome measures with p < 0.0001. Conclusion: From the results obtained it can be concluded that both the group has better improvement with the outcomes while the OK group has a significant change than the TM group. Hence this Ok technique could be a viable alternative for management of breast engorgements among post-partum mothers. KEYWORDS: Breast engorgement, Lactating mothers, Oketani massage, Therapeutic massage, manual lymphatic drainage, post-partum nursing mothers