The Effect of Inhalation of Aromatherapy Lavender (Essential Oil) on Post-Operative Discectomy Pain

Backgrounds and Objective: Fear of the side effects associated with drug treatments is one of the most common causes of ineffective pain relief after surgery. In this study, we determined the effects of aromatherapy (lavender essential oil) in discectomy postoperative pain. Materials and Methods: In this double-blind clinical trial study, sixty patients were equally divided into two groups based on random allocation block. The rate of postoperative pain was measured by using the visual analog scale at ۴, ۸ and ۱۲ hours after the onset of postoperative pain. If VAS>۳, patients of the intervention group received inhalation aromatherapy with lavender essence while the control group received inhalation aromatherapy with placebo (Almond). The data obtained were analyzed by statistical software SPSS version ۲۲ and using the nonparametric tests. Results: The pain severity changes between the two groups after intervention in the first and second phases (۴ and ۸ hours after postoperative pain onset) was not significant (p> ۰.۰۱), but the third phase (۱۲ hours after postoperative pain onset) was significant (p <۰.۰۱). Conclusion: Results of this study indicates that using aromatherapy with lavender essential oil for pain relief after discectomy surgery in the early hours after pain onset is not effective, but it can be recommended to be administered in acute pain with moderate to mild severity, as an effective way to reduce discomfort.

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Keywords: Aromatherapy ، Postoperative pain ، Lavender oil ، Discectomy