Reflexology Research & Science
Does reflexology work? The honest answer from 808 peer-reviewed studies: the evidence is mixed and mostly early-stage. 245 are randomized controlled trials and 221 are systematic reviews or meta-analyses. The strongest signals are for relaxation, anxiety, and pain, not for curing disease. Every study is below, graded by evidence strength and pulled from PubMed.
808 studies · page 26 of 68
Interventions that Improve Sleep in Caregivers of Adult Care-Recipients: A Systematic Review
The purpose of the present review was to compile and analyze all interventions aimed at improving the sleep-rest pattern of adult caregivers. A database search was performed in PubMed, Embase, Scopus, CINAHL and PsycINFO. Twenty-four papers published between 1998 and 2020 met the inclusion criteria. Informal caregivers can benefit from various types of sleep interventions, including (a) cognitive-behavioral sleep interventions (CBIs), (b) caregiver health interventions (CHIs), and (c) exercise programs. Other types of interventions such as acupressure, back massage, reflexology, music, and heart rate variability biofeedback sessions may have beneficial effects on the sleep of caregivers. Yet, studies on this topic are heterogeneous and often have considerable methodological shortcomings. Few clinical trials have explored sleep problems as a dyadic caregiver-patient relationship. It is necessary to conduct new clinical trials to determine the viability and level of evidence of the various strategies aimed at improving sleep of informal caregivers.
strong evidencePrevalence of use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) by patients/consumers in the UK: systematic review of surveys
This systematic review aimed to estimate the prevalence of use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in the UK. Five databases were searched for English language, peer-reviewed surveys published between 1 January 2000 and 7 October 2011. In addition, relevant book chapters and files from our own departmental records were searched by hand. Eighty-nine surveys were included, with a total of 97,222 participants. Most studies were of poor methodological quality. Across surveys on CAM in general, the average one-year prevalence of use of CAM was 41.1% and the average lifetime prevalence was 51.8%. In methodologically sound surveys, the equivalent rates were 26.3% and 44%, respectively. In surveys with response rates >70%, average one-year prevalence was nearly threefold lower than in surveys with response rates between 21% and 50%. Herbal medicine was the most popular CAM, followed by homeopathy, aromatherapy, massage and reflexology. Many patients and consumers in the UK use CAM; healthcare professionals should therefore responsibly advise their patients about the use of CAM.
Reflexology: an update of a systematic review of randomised clinical trials
Reflexology is a popular form of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). The aim of this update is to critically evaluate the evidence for or against the effectiveness of reflexology in patients with any type of medical condition. Six electronic databases were searched to identify all relevant randomised clinical trials (RCTs). Their methodological quality was assessed independently by the two reviewers using the Jadad score. Overall, 23 studies met all inclusion criteria. They related to a wide range of medical conditions. The methodological quality of the RCTs was often poor. Nine high quality RCTs generated negative findings; and five generated positive findings. Eight RCTs suggested that reflexology is effective for the following conditions: diabetes, premenstrual syndrome, cancer patients, multiple sclerosis, symptomatic idiopathic detrusor over-activity and dementia yet important caveats remain. It is concluded that the best clinical evidence does not demonstrate convincingly reflexology to be an effective treatment for any medical condition.
Complementary and alternative therapies in multiple sclerosis: a systematic literature classification and analysis
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a disease determined by inflammatory demyelination and neurodegeneration in the Central Nervous System (CNS). Despite the extensive utilization of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) in MS, there is a need to have comprehensive evidence regarding their application in the management of MS symptoms. This manuscript is a Systematic Literature Review and classification (SLR) of CAM therapies for the management of MS symptoms based on the International Classification of Functioning Disability and Health (ICF) model. Studies published between 1990 and 2020 IN PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus, Pro-Quest, and Google Scholar using CAM therapies for the management of MS symptoms were analyzed. Thirty-one papers on the subject were analyzed and classified. The findings of this review clearly show that mindfulness, yoga, and reflexology were frequently used for managing MS symptoms. Moreover, most of the papers used mindfulness and yoga as a CAM therapy for the management of MS symptoms, which mostly devoted to mental functions such as fatigue, depression, cognition, neuromuscular functions such as gait, muscle strength, and spasticity, and sensory function such as balance, in addition to, reflexology is vastly used to management of mental functions of MS patients. Evidence suggested that CAM therapies in patients with MS have the potential to target and enhancement numerous elements outlined in the ICF model. Although the use of CAM therapies in MS symptom management is promising, there is a need for strict clinical trials. Future research direction should concentrate on methodologically powerful studies to find out the potential efficacy of CAM intervention.
Evidence-Based Nonpharmacological Symptom Management of Palliative Care in Advanced and Metastatic Cancer Patients: A Systematic Review
The aim of this systematic review is to provide reliable, high-quality data with an evidence-based, up-to-date overview of the use of nonpharmacologic interventions in the management of symptoms in advanced cancer patients with metastatic disease. A comprehensive literature search was performed by searching PubMed, EBSCO, Cochrane, and Google Scholar databases. "Nonpharmacologic," "palliative care," and "cancer" were the three main terms combined with the main symptoms of cancer palliative care such as "pain," "fatigue," "nausea and vomiting," "psychosocial distress," "loss of appetite," "dyspnea," "constipation," and "drowsiness," and each symptom was searched separately. Thirteen studies were included in this systematic review with a total of 1975 participants. Three of the studies examined "fatigue," three examined "quality of life," one examined "sleep," three examined "dyspnea," two examined "depression," and one examined "pain." To manage these symptoms, three of the studies included in the systematic review used "patient education," three of the studies used "exercise," three of the studies used "fan therapy," and the remaining studies used "reflexology," "cognitive behavioral therapy," and "occupational therapy." Number of studies done regarding the advanced and metastatic cancer patients and their symptom management through nonpharmacological methods are low, which makes it difficult to draw decisive conclusions.
Effect of Complementary Medicine on Pain Relief and Wound Healing after Cesarean Section: A Systematic Review
Cesarean sections are one of the common surgical procedures around the world. Management of cesarean section side effects, including pain, hematoma, delayed wound healing, is of particular importance in maintaining maternal health and ability to care for the baby. The tendency to use complementary medicine strategies is on the rise because of the easy treatment with low side effects. The purpose of this study was to systematically review the efficacy and safety of clinical trials performed in Iran and worldwide on the effect of complementary medicine on pain relief and wound healing after cesarean section. PRISMA checklist was followed to prepare the report of this systematic review. The search process was carried out on databases on databases of Magiran, SID, Iran Medex, Scopus, Pub Med, Science direct, Medline and Cochrane library using keywords of cesarean, pain, wound healing, Herbal medicine, acupressure, massage, complementary medicine and their Persian equivalent and all possible combinations, from inception until February 2020. We used the Jadad scale to assess the quality of the searched articles. According to the Jadad scale, the articles with a score of at least 3 were included in the study. Finally, 28 clinical trials (with a sample size of 3,245) scored at least 3 on the Jadad scale were included into the analysis. This article reviewed 13 articles on medicinal herbs, 4 articles on massage, 1 article on reflexology, 2 articles on acupressure. According to the present review, the use of medicinal herbs was the most common method of complementary medicine in pain relief and wound healing after cesarean section.
Premenstrual syndrome
Premenstrual symptoms occur in 95% of women of reproductive age. Severe, debilitating symptoms (PMS) occur in about 5% of those women. There is no consensus on how symptom severity should be assessed, which has led to a wide variety of symptoms scales, making it difficult to synthesise data on treatment efficacy. The cyclical nature of the condition also makes it difficult to conduct RCTs. We conducted a systematic review and aimed to answer the following clinical questions: What are the effects of drug treatments; hormonal treatments; psychological interventions; physical therapies; dietary supplements; and surgical treatments in women with premenstrual syndrome? We searched: Medline, Embase, The Cochrane Library and other important databases up to November 2006 (Clinical Evidence reviews are updated periodically, please check our website for the most up-to-date version of this review). We included harms alerts from relevant organisations such as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). We found 52 systematic reviews, RCTs, or observational studies that met our inclusion criteria. We performed a GRADE evaluation of the quality of evidence for interventions. In this systematic review we present information relating to the effectiveness and safety of the following interventions: acupuncture, alprazolam, bright light therapy, buspirone, chiropractic manipulation, clomipramine, cognitive behavioural therapy, danazol, endometrial ablation, evening primrose oil, exercise, gonadorelin analogues, hysterectomy, laparoscopic bilateral oophorectomy, magnesium supplements, metolazone, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, oestrogens, oral contraceptives, progesterone, progestogens, pyridoxine, reflexology, relaxation, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, spironolactone, tibolone.
Massage therapy as a complementary and alternative approach for people with multiple sclerosis: a systematic review
Multiple sclerosis (MS) causes a range of different symptoms. Patients with MS (PwMS) have looked for alternative therapies to control their MS progress and treat their symptoms. Non-invasive therapeutic approaches such as massage can have benefits to mitigate some of these symptoms. However, there is no rigorous review of massage effectiveness for PwMS. The present systematic review aims to examine the effectiveness of different massage approaches on common MS symptoms, including fatigue, pain, anxiety, depression, and spasticity. A systematic search of related trials was conducted in electronic databases including Cochrane Library, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar, using search terms related to Multiple Sclerosis and massage therapy. The PEDro scale was used to evaluate the methodological quality of reviewed studies. A total of 12 studies met the inclusion criteria. We rated 5 studies as fair and 7 studies as good. Fatigue was improved by different massage styles, such as reflexology, nonspecific therapeutic massage, and Swedish massage. Pain, anxiety, and depression were effectively improved by reflexology techniques. Spasticity was reduced by Swedish massage and reflexology techniques. Different massage approaches effectively improved MS symptoms such as fatigue, pain, anxiety, depression, and spasticity.Implications for rehabilitationThe present review results indicate that massage may have beneficial effects on motor and non-motor symptoms in MS.Massage could be considered a complementary and alternative treatment combined with conventional medicine in people with MS.Pain and fatigue are best improved by Swedish massage, while anxiety and depression are effectively improved by reflexology.
The effectiveness of aromatherapy and reflexology in neurodegenerative disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Many neurodegenerative conditions are chronic disorders and result in a range of debilitating symptoms, with many people turning to complementary therapies. A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted to investigate the evidence on effectiveness of aromatherapy and reflexology on all neurodegenerative conditions. We identified nine eligible studies (total sample n = 504 participants) all of which were on multiple sclerosis only. A meta-analysis was conducted including data from six studies, which demonstrated no significant benefit of aromatherapy/reflexology; however, the sample sizes were small and of low quality. This systematic review confirmed that it is not possible to draw conclusions regarding the effectiveness of reflexology and aromatherapy in multiple sclerosis. Larger high-quality studies are required to test these widely used therapies.
Sham treatment effects in manual therapy trials on back pain patients: a systematic review and pairwise meta-analysis
To assess the effects and reliability of sham procedures in manual therapy (MT) trials in the treatment of back pain (BP) in order to provide methodological guidance for clinical trial development. Systematic review and meta-analysis. Different databases were screened up to 20 August 2020. Randomised controlled trials involving adults affected by BP (cervical and lumbar), acute or chronic, were included.Hand contact sham treatment (ST) was compared with different MT (physiotherapy, chiropractic, osteopathy, massage, kinesiology and reflexology) and to no treatment. Primary outcomes were BP improvement, success of blinding and adverse effect (AE). Secondary outcomes were number of drop-outs. Dichotomous outcomes were analysed using risk ratio (RR), continuous using mean difference (MD), 95% CIs. The minimal clinically important difference was 30 mm changes in pain score. 24 trials were included involving 2019 participants. Very low evidence quality suggests clinically insignificant pain improvement in favour of MT compared with ST (MD 3.86, 95% CI 3.29 to 4.43) and no differences between ST and no treatment (MD -5.84, 95% CI -20.46 to 8.78).ST reliability shows a high percentage of correct detection by participants (ranged from 46.7% to 83.5%), spinal manipulation being the most recognised technique.Low quality of evidence suggests that AE and drop-out rates were similar between ST and MT (RR AE=0.84, 95% CI 0.55 to 1.28, RR drop-outs=0.98, 95% CI 0.77 to 1.25). A similar drop-out rate was reported for no treatment (RR=0.82, 95% 0.43 to 1.55). MT does not seem to have clinically relevant effect compared with ST. Similar effects were found with no treatment. The heterogeneousness of sham MT studies and the very low quality of evidence render uncertain these review findings.Future trials should develop reliable kinds of ST, similar to active treatment, to ensure participant blinding and to guarantee a proper sample size for the re
Comparative efficacy of non- pharmacological interventions on sleep quality in patients with multiple sclerosis: a systematic review and network meta-analysis
This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of non-pharmacological interventions for improving sleep quality in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) using a systematic review and network meta-analysis. Randomized controlled trials examining the effects of non-pharmacological interventions on sleep quality in patients with MS were retrieved from PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, CINAHL, CNKI, Wanfang Database, and VIP Database. The search period spanned from database inception to October 31, 2025. We performed a network meta-analysis using RevMan and Stata software. We included 35 studies involving 2,804 participants and 20 distinct intervention types. The most frequently investigated interventions were exercise-based therapies and cognitive-behavioral approaches. Based on cumulative ranking probabilities, assessed using the surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA), occupational therapy-based sleep interventions were the most effective for improving subjective sleep quality (SUCRA = 94.2%), followed by mindfulness intervention (SUCRA = 85.9%) and sleep hygiene education (SUCRA = 78.6%). For reducing insomnia severity, effleurage massage ranked highest (SUCRA = 91.9%), followed by cognitive behavioral therapy (SUCRA = 80.1%) and reflexology (SUCRA = 77.0%). Occupational therapy-based sleep interventions and effleurage massage appear to be the most effective non-pharmacological strategies for improving sleep quality in patients with MS. However, further high-quality randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm these findings and strengthen the evidence base.
Massage for low back pain: an updated systematic review within the framework of the Cochrane Back Review Group
Systematic Review. To assess the effects of massage therapy for nonspecific low back pain. Low back pain is one of the most common and costly musculoskeletal problems in modern society. Proponents of massage therapy claim it can minimize pain and disability, and speed return to normal function. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL from their beginning to May 2008. We also searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (The Cochrane Library 2006, issue 3), HealthSTAR and Dissertation abstracts up to 2006. There were no language restrictions. References in the included studies and in reviews of the literature were screened. The studies had to be randomized or quasi-randomized trials investigating the use of any type of massage (using the hands or a mechanical device) as a treatment for nonspecific low back pain. Two review authors selected the studies, assessed the risk of bias using the criteria recommended by the Cochrane Back Review Group, and extracted the data using standardized forms. Both qualitative and meta-analyses were performed. Thirteen randomized trials were included. Eight had a high risk and 5 had a low risk of bias. One study was published in German and the rest in English. Massage was compared to an inert therapy (sham treatment) in 2 studies that showed that massage was superior for pain and function on both short- and long-term follow-ups. In 8 studies, massage was compared to other active treatments. They showed that massage was similar to exercises, and massage was superior to joint mobilization, relaxation therapy, physical therapy, acupuncture, and self-care education. One study showed that reflexology on the feet had no effect on pain and functioning. The beneficial effects of massage in patients with chronic low back pain lasted at least 1 year after the end of the treatment. Two studies compared 2 different techniques of massage. One concluded that acupuncture massage produces better results than classic (Swedish) massage and
Does reflexology work? Common questions
Is reflexology scientifically proven?
No. The most careful reviews conclude reflexology isn't a proven treatment for any specific medical condition. What the research more consistently supports is relaxation and short-term relief of anxiety and pain. We track 808 studies here, graded by evidence strength, so you can judge for yourself.
Does reflexology actually work?
It depends what you mean. For curing or treating a disease, the evidence doesn't support it. For helping people relax and feel less anxious or in less pain during a session, a number of small studies are positive, including 245 randomized controlled trials and 221 systematic reviews or meta-analyses in this library.
Is reflexology a pseudoscience?
Reflexology's core idea, that specific points on the feet map to distant organs, isn't backed by anatomy or physiology, and that's why critics call it pseudoscience. The relaxation and comfort people feel during a session are real, though. It's best understood as a complementary relaxation practice, not a medical treatment.
What is reflexology best supported for?
The strongest and most consistent evidence is for relaxation and short-term reduction in anxiety and pain, plus some cancer-care symptoms like nausea and fatigue. Evidence for treating specific diseases is weak. Use the evidence-strength filter to sort studies by how solid they are.
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