Effect of Foot Reflexology on Pain, Fatigue, and Quality of Sleep after Kidney Transplantation Surgery: A Parallel Randomized Controlled Trial

Authors: Samarehfekri Atena, Dehghan Mahlagha, Arab Mansoor, Ebadzadeh Mohammad RezaJournal: Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAMPublished: January 1, 2020DOI: 10.1155/2020/5095071

Q2 JournalSJR: 0.5h-index: 99

Moderate EvidenceRandomized Controlled Trialn=50 participants

Insomnia

In Plain Language: reflexology for sleep, explained

The study was a parallel randomized controlled trial. Patients admitted to the transplantation ward participated in the study. Fifty-three eligible patients were allocated into the foot reflexology group (n = 26) and the control group (n = 27) by using the stratified randomization method. Finally, 25 participants in each group finished the study. The intervention group received foot reflexology for 30 minutes once a day for three consecutive days, and no reflexology was applied in the control group. The intervention started on the second day after surgery. Pain, fatigue, and quality of sleep were measured on the first, second (before intervention), third, fourth, and eleventh days after surgery. Data were collected using visual analogue scale for measuring pain and fatigue and Verran and Snyder-Halpern sleep scale for measuring quality of sleep. In each group, 25 patients finished the study. The mean pain score in the foot reflexology and control groups decreased from 9.44 ± 0.96 and 9.36 ± 0.91 on the day of surgery to 1.32 ± 0.94 and 4.32 ± 1.68 on the eleventh day after surgery, respectively. The mean fatigue score in the reflexology and control groups decreased from 8.76 ± 1.27 and 8.6 ± 1.26 on the day of surgery to 1.24 ± 1.2 and 3.92 ± 1.63 on the eleventh day after surgery, respectively. The mean sleep score in the foot reflexology and control groups increased from 33.38 ± 11.22 and 39.59 ± 12.8 on the day of surgery to 69.43 ± 12.8 and 56.27 ± 8.03 on the eleventh day after surgery, respectively. While pain, fatigue, and sleep quality scores improved in both groups, those in the intervention group showed significantly greater improvement compared with the control group (P P > 0.05). Foot reflexology may

Key Findings: what this randomised trial found about sleep

✓Foot reflexology was administered for 30 minutes once daily for three consecutive days starting on the second day after kidney transplantation surgery.
✓Pain, fatigue, and sleep quality were measured across five time points (days 1, 2, 3, 4, and 11 post-surgery) using validated scales including visual analogue scale and Verran and Snyder-Halpern sleep scale.
✓The study successfully completed with 25 participants in each group (foot reflexology and control), comparing the effects of reflexology intervention on post-surgical recovery outcomes.

What This Means for You

If you're having kidney transplant surgery, foot reflexology may meaningfully reduce your post-operative pain and fatigue, though this evidence comes from a single moderate-sized study and should be discussed with your surgical team.

What This Means for Practitioners

Reflexology shows promise as a post-operative intervention for transplant patients, with measurable improvements in pain and fatigue when applied starting day 2 after surgery for three consecutive sessions.

Study Design: how this randomised trial was run

Sample Size

50 participants

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Reflexology for sleep: common questions

Does reflexology help with sleep?

What did this study find?

Foot reflexology was administered for 30 minutes once daily for three consecutive days starting on the second day after kidney transplantation surgery. Pain, fatigue, and sleep quality were measured across five time points (days 1, 2, 3, 4, and 11 post-surgery) using validated scales including visual analogue scale and Verran and Snyder-Halpern sleep scale. The study successfully completed with 25 participants in each group (foot reflexology and control), comparing the effects of reflexology intervention on post-surgical recovery outcomes.

How strong is this evidence?

This is a randomised trial and we rate its evidence moderate. It covers 50 participants. It was published in Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM, a Q2 journal. Reflexology is a complementary therapy, not a replacement for medical treatment.