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Summary sheet
Title
Journal
Authors
Reference
Country of origin: USA
The effect of foot reflexology on pain in patents with
metastatic cancer
Applied Nursing Research
Nancy Stephenson, Jo Ann Dalton, John Carlson
Nov 2003 Vol 16 Issue 4, 284-286
Disease / illness
Type of study
Number of clients
Control type
Usefulness rating
Cancer specifically with metatstatic pain
Experimental repeated measures
36
None – participants were offered the treatment after the
end of data collection.
4
Methods
36 cancer patients over a period of time over 8 months. Participants were
randomly selected and stratified to pain levels of low (2-4) high (5 and above)
pain level on the self report pain level measure. 9 patients invited declined to
take part.
Reflexology was given two times 24 hrs apart to experimental subjects. A
second person collected the data. The pain relief medication was calculated
(equianalgesia) over 3 consecutive days.
The subjects were also asked for a yes/ no answer to ‘I believe that foot
reflexology will help to relieve my pain related to cancer’. – testing prior belief.
Controls for data collection were offered a treatment after the data collection
had taken place.
There were 19 in the active group and these patients had a range of cancers.
The majority of the sample was female and Caucasian.
Results
An analysis of variance of baseline adjusted post treatment measurements
indicated lower pain scores in the treatment group immediately after the
reflexology (p<0.01) but adjusting to the pain before treatment there was no
significant effect at 3hrs (p=0.21) or 24 hrs (p=0.14).
The prior belief question had no effect on the outcome of the reflexology
treatment.
As to analgesia use, there was an overall decrease in pain score after the first
treatment but there was also an increase in pain medication use. This is
probably the result of the increased medication.
Conclusions
This is a small study but suggests there is an ‘immediate positive effect of
reflexology for patients with metatstatic cancer who report pain’.
The paper suggests that research needs to be carried out on whether the
home carers for example family members, can be trained to give reflexology
therefore being available for pain relief whenever necessary and at no cost.
Evaluation of multiple treatments over time might then be carried out.