Disclosures: Maria Grabnar, MD: No financial relationships or conflicts of interest
Objective: To investigate whether lavender has an effect on pain and anxiety associated with fluoroscopically-guided lumbar spine injections.
Design: Randomized, controlled trial Setting : Outpatient procedural clinic Participants : 42 subjects randomly assigned to either the experimental lavender groups (n=15), the control almond oil group (n=15), or the placebo sterile water group (n=12).
Interventions: Subjects wore a mask infused with either lavender, almond oil, or water for 5 minutes prior to and during their procedure. Subjects rated their anxiety using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAT-I) prior to the procedure and after based on how they felt during the procedure. Subjects were also asked to rate their pain level using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) as it occurred during the procedure.
Main Outcome Measures: comparison of pain using the VAS that occurred during the procedure among lavender, almond oil, and water groups; comparison of anxiety using the STAT-I that occurred prior to the procedure and during the procedure among lavender, almond oil, and water groups
Results: No statistically significant difference in anxiety was found between lavender, almond oil, and water groups based on ANOVA and T test analysis. However, the mean change in anxiety in the Almond group (-2.4286) and the Lavender group (-3.333) compared to the Water group (-0.6000) may be clinically significant. A difference in pain levels was found in the lavender group compared to both almond oil and water (3.87 vs. 5.67 and 5.58) which is clinically significant although not statistically significant. Conclusions: Lavender may have a clinical effect on anxiety levels based on analysis compared to almond oil and water, although not statistically significant. Lavender was associated with decreased pain levels during procedures compared to both almond oil and water in this study and may present a feasible clinical alternative to pain medications with minimal risk when patients are scheduled to undergo interventional spine procedures.
Level of Evidence: Level I
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
Grabnar M, Kim CH, Mueller MR. Effects of Lavender on Pain and Anxiety Associated with Interventional Spine Procedures [abstract]. PM R. 2020; 12(S1)(suppl 1). https://pmrjabstracts.org/abstract/effects-of-lavender-on-pain-and-anxiety-associated-with-interventional-spine-procedures/. Accessed May 31, 2025.« Back to AAPM&R Annual Assembly 2020
PM&R Meeting Abstracts - https://pmrjabstracts.org/abstract/effects-of-lavender-on-pain-and-anxiety-associated-with-interventional-spine-procedures/