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 Reflexology Effectiveness: Findings and Statistics 1. The effects of foot reflexology on anxiety and pain in patients with breast and lung cancer. Stephenson NL, Weinrich SP, Tavakoli AS. School of Nursing, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, USA. stephensonn@mail.ecu.edu PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To test the effects of foot reflexology on anxiety and pain in patients with breast and lung cancer. DESIGN: Quasi-experimental, pre/post, crossover. SETTING: A medical/oncology unit in a 314-bed hospital in the southeastern United States. SAMPLE: Twenty-three inpatients with breast or lung cancer. The majority of the sample were female, Caucasian, and 65 years or older; had 12 or fewer years of education and an annual income of $20,000 or more; and were receiving regularly scheduled opioids and adjuvant medications on the control and intervention day. METHODS: Procedures included an intervention condition (foot reflexology to both feet for 30 minutes total by a certified reflexologist) and a control condition for each patient (with at least a two-day break). No changes were made in patients' regular schedule or medications. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES: Anxiety and pain. FINDINGS: Following the foot reflexology intervention, patients with breast and lung cancer experienced a significant decrease in anxiety. One of three pain measures showed that patients with breast cancer experienced a significant decrease in pain. CONCLUSIONS: The significant decrease in anxiety observed in this sample of patients with breast and lung cancer following foot reflexology suggests that this may be a self-care approach to decrease anxiety in this patient population. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE: Professionals and lay people can be taught reflexology. Foot reflexology is an avenue for human touch, can be performed anywhere, requires no special equipment, is noninvasive, and does not interfere with patients' privacy. PMID: 10660924 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] 2. Does reflexology impact on cancer patients' quality of life? Hodgson H. Stobhill Hospital, Glasgow. AIM: The objective of this study was to determine whether reflexology has an impact on the quality of life of patients in the palliative stage of cancer. METHOD: Twelve patients in the palliative stage of cancer with various tumour types were randomised into two groups. They were randomly assigned to receive either reflexology or placebo reflexology. All participants completed a linear analogue self-assessment scale relating to quality of life. All participants then received three sessions of either reflexology or placebo reflexology. The same person, a qualified reflexologist, provided the interventions for both groups. The participants were not aware of which intervention they were receiving. All participants then completed a second linear analogue self-assessment scale relating to quality of life. RESULTS: All participants felt that their quality of life had improved, even those who had received the placebo treatment. The reflexology group, however, reported more benefit than the placebo group. There was a significant difference (p = 0.004) between the reflexology group and the placebo group. CONCLUSION: This study showed that reflexology does have an impact on the quality of life of patients in the palliative stage of cancer. PMID: 11973949 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] 3. Evaluation of a hospice based reflexology service: a qualitative audit of patient perceptions. Gambles M, Crooke M, Wilkinson S. Marie Curie Cancer Care, Marie Curie Centre Liverpool, Speke Road, Woolton, Liverpool L25 8QA, UK. mgambles@mariecurie.org.uk Complementary therapies are being increasingly used in palliative care in the drive to improve patients' emotional, psychological and spiritual health, and enhance the quality of their lives. The importance of seeking the 'user' perspective when evaluating such services is becoming increasingly acknowledged. However, it is also extremely important that we elicit such perspectives in an ethically sensitive manner. This study used a simple semi-structured questionnaire to elicit the views of a convenience sample of 34 patients receiving palliative care at a specialist palliative core unit in the north of England who had completed a course of 4-6 sessions of reflexology. Patients' comments about the therapy and the service as a whole were overwhelmingly positive. They identified relaxation, relief from tension and anxiety, feelings of comfort and improved well-being as beneficial effects of their course of reflexology. Patients also spontaneously evaluated the experience holistically in terms of the wider therapeutic environment--the centre, the staff and the therapist as well as the therapy itself. The increasing demand for evidence based practice now challenges researchers to provide a relevant holistic assessment of complementary therapies using approaches that are both ethical and sensitive to the needs of this vulnerable patient population. PMID: 12849608 [PubMed] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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