Investigating the Effectiveness of Intradialytic Massage on Cramping in Dialysis Patients

Primary Aim. The primary aim is to determine the effectiveness of intradialytic massage on the frequency and severity of cramping among hemodialysis patients prone to lower extremity cramping during treatment. Hypothesis: Compared to control patients, intervention patients will be significantly less likely to have intradialytic cramping that requires staff intervention or treatment termination. This is a study involving 32 (16 intervention, 16 control) hemodialysis patients with frequent lower extremity cramps during treatment. Frequent cramping during dialysis treatments is defined as 1 or more episodes of lower extremity cramps during or after dialysis over the previous 2 weeks. Cramping frequency will be determined by chart notes. Muscle cramping is defined as contraction of the large muscle group of the lower extremities sufficiently painful to require intervention by the dialysis staff for relief. The intervention group will receive a 20 minute massage of the lower extremities by a trained and licensed massage therapist during each treatment (3x per week) for 2 weeks. The control group will receive usual care by dialysis center staff.