Effect of Foot Massage and Reflexology on Physiological Parameters of Patients undergone Neurosurgery

Abstract

Foot massage and reflexology is one of the strategies to fulfill the goals for human touch and holistic care. The present study was conducted to assess the effect of “foot massage and reflexology” on physiological parameters, i.e., systolic and diastolic blood pressure, heart rate and oxygen saturation of patients who have undergone neurosurgery. The study was carried out in neurosurgery intensive care units of a tertiary care hospital. Using purposive sampling technique, 30 patients were enrolled in this study. A protocol on the procedure of foot massage and reflexology was developed. An observation checklist was used to record the parameters under study. The parameters were recorded before, immediately after and after 30 min of the intervention. Mean age (years) ± SD of study subjects was 48.5 ± 12.3. 56.7% were males. Immediately after the intervention, there was significant decrease in high systolic blood pressure and improvement in oxygen saturation. While comparing immediate and after 30 min effect of intervention, there was significant reduction in the heart rate in second observation and there was significant improvement in oxygen saturation in first observation. Further studies may be carried out to evaluate the long-term effects of foot massage and reflexology. The technique may be put in practice after proper training of the nursing personnel.

Keywords: Physiological parameters, neurosurgery patients, foot massage and reflexology