Background and aims: Patients with asthma suffer from dyspnea, cough, wheeze in their daily life and this may be by stress and anxiety. Massage may promote relaxation and relieve symptom. Thus, it is appropriate to explore the effectiveness of massage on symptom in patients with asthma.

Methods: This study was a randomized-controlled trial that was performed in the Immunology and Allergy Clinics of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Iran. 60 children with allergic asthma of 6–12 year–old were invited to participate in this study; only 58 of them agreed. They were divided into two groups at random. Subjects in the massage therapy group received a 30 minute massage therapy by their parents at home before bedtime every night for 4 weeks in addition to the standard asthma treatment. The control group received the standard asthma treatment alone for 4 weeks. Both groups were given a diary notes to monitor symptoms.

Results: The results of this study showed that symptom Scores in massage group were improved significantly compared with control group, and the rate of dyspnea, cough and wheeze in the experimental group than the control group were reduced by approximately 45%, 56% and 52%.

Conclusion: The findings suggest that massage might reduce anxiety in patient with asthma and may have a beneficial effect on symptoms of asthma, such as dyspnea, cough, and wheeze. Therefore can be used as a nursing education for parents to improve dyspnea in children with asthma.