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Objective To investigate the impact of massage therapy on pain syndrome and shoulder function in women undergoing mastectomy, specifically those referred to oncology centres in Kerman.Methods This study was conducted as a randomised clinical trial, the convenience sampling method was employed, and the samples were randomly divided into two groups. The Swedish massage group (n=21) received Swedish hand massages for a duration of 3 weeks, with two sessions per week, each lasting 20 min. The sham group (n=21) underwent light stroking of the corresponding hand for the same duration and frequency. The data collection process involved gathering demographic and background information and utilising the Shoulder Pain and Disability Index. Data were collected prior to the intervention, immediately after the intervention and 1 month after the intervention.Results In the massage group, the mean pain syndrome score was 5.62, 1.89 and 5.42 before the intervention, immediately and 1 month after the intervention, respectively. In the sham group, the mean pain syndrome scores were 6.51, 4.94 and 6.32 before the intervention, immediately after the intervention and 1 month later, respectively. Shoulder dysfunction mean scores in the massage group were 3.84, 1.20 and 3.43 before the intervention, immediately after the intervention and 1 month later, respectively. In the sham group, the mean shoulder dysfunction scores were 3.73, 2.73 and 3.43 before the intervention, immediately after the intervention and 1 month later, respectively. The pain syndrome score and shoulder dysfunction decreased immediately after the massage compared with the sham group (p<0.05).Conclusion Swedish massage could effectively reduce pain syndrome and shoulder dysfunction in patients who underwent mastectomy surgery. Based on these findings, Swedish massage can be applied in clinical practice as a simple, low-cost and non-invasive complementary therapy to support pain relief and functional recovery in oncology and rehabilitation clinics.Trial registration number IRCT20221213056803N1; Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials on 8 January 2023. https://irct.behdasht.gov.ir/trial/67387; recruitment start date: 2023