'Just the ticket': integrating massage and reflexology in practice (Part I)
Limited EvidenceIn Plain Language: reflexology, explained
The purpose of these papers is to describe and discuss the piloting and evaluation of an inpatient complementary therapy service. This was a single site case study without a control group and involving practitioners themselves collecting data, recording reflections on their own practice and engaging in monthly clinical supervision sessions. The service was aimed at providing treatments of hand and foot massage incorporating reflexology techniques for a total of 18 patients. In part 2 of this paper, an evaluation of the project will be presented including the findings of this pilot service from the perspective of both the patients and practitioners, and the analysis of some of the physiological data collected. Part 3 will focus on a subgroup of the patient cohort to illuminate the experience from both patient and practitioner perspective.
Key Findings: what this pilot study found
- ✓An inpatient complementary therapy service was successfully piloted providing hand and foot massage with reflexology techniques to 18 patients at a single site.
- ✓Practitioners collected data through self-reflection and engaged in monthly clinical supervision sessions to evaluate their own practice during the pilot service.
- ✓The evaluation incorporated physiological data collection alongside patient and practitioner perspectives to assess the effectiveness of the integrated massage and reflexology service.
What This Means for You
This small pilot study suggests reflexology may be worth exploring in hospital settings, but more rigorous research with larger groups and comparison populations is needed before we can be confident about its effectiveness.
What This Means for Practitioners
Regular clinical supervision and structured self-reflection on your own practice can help you integrate massage and reflexology services effectively in institutional settings.
Study Design: how this pilot study was run
Common questions about this study
What does this study mean in practice?
This small pilot study suggests reflexology may be worth exploring in hospital settings, but more rigorous research with larger groups and comparison populations is needed before we can be confident about its effectiveness.
What did this study find?
An inpatient complementary therapy service was successfully piloted providing hand and foot massage with reflexology techniques to 18 patients at a single site. Practitioners collected data through self-reflection and engaged in monthly clinical supervision sessions to evaluate their own practice during the pilot service. The evaluation incorporated physiological data collection alongside patient and practitioner perspectives to assess the effectiveness of the integrated massage and reflexology service.
How strong is this evidence?
This is a pilot study and we rate its evidence limited. It covers 18 participants. It was published in Complementary therapies in nursing & midwifery, a Q1 journal. Reflexology is a complementary therapy, not a replacement for medical treatment.
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