Effect of foot reflexology and slow stroke back massage on the severity of fatigue in patients undergoing hemodialysis: A semi-experimental study

Abstract

Background Fatigue is one of the most disturbing and the most common symptoms reported by patients dialyzed. There are methods available on complementary and alternative medicine, through which nurses can help patients to promote their health. Reflexology is a treatment which has a long history and is considered as one of the most popular and the most widespread methods of alternative medicine. In this study, the effects of foot reflexology and slow stroke back massage on the severity of fatigue in patients treated with hemodialysis were measured. Methods This is a quasi-experimental study that performed on 52 patients chosen from Imam Khomeini dialysis center in Zabol and divided into control and intervention groups by randomize allocation method. Required information collected from a demographic and fatigue severity questionnaire. After completing questionnaires by the study subjects, foot massage and slow stroke back massage was performed during three weeks, two sessions each week (5 sessions in total). At the end of intervention data of two groups was collected. Data was analyzed using independent sample t-Test, Chi-squared test, Fisher exact test, oneway ANOVA with repeated measures and Bonferroni test by SPSS software version 21. Results The mean [±SD] fatigue in patients with foot reflexology massage and slow stroke back massage reflect on the 53.61[±10.12] and 52.20 [±10.37], and the differences were not significant, but after the intervention, fatigue in the group receiving foot reflexology massage was reduced significantly compared to slow stroke back massage group (p<0.0001). Conclusions The result of this study showed that reflexology massage is a safe and economical nursing intervention for decreasing fatigue in hemodialysis patients.

Aromatherapy Massage vs. Foot Reflexology on the Severity of Restless Legs Syndrome in Female Patients Undergoing Hemodialysis

“…Reflexology can reduce fatigue, pain and cramps, and improve quality of sleep in patients undergoing hemodialysis [39]. Ahmadidarrehsima et al (2018) reported that reflexology was a quite safe intervention to reduce fatigue in patients undergoing hemodialysis [40].…”

Complementary and Integrative Interventions for Improving Fatigue and Quality of Life in Adults Receiving Hemodialysis: A Scoping Review

“…Among the 14 studies, six different measures were utilised to measure fatigue and three different measures to assess quality of life. The measurement of fatigue include Piper Fatigue Scale [17], Novel Fatigue Scale for Hemodialysis [18]; Fatigue Severity Scale [19][20][21], Fatigue Scale [22]; Rothen Fatigue Scale [23], and visual analog scale [24]. Quality of life were assessed using PROMIS [18,25,26] and KDQOL-SF 3 [19][20][21][22][23][24][27][28][29][30].…”

Massage Therapy Research Review

“…Although fatigue and sleep are typically related problems, fatigue has been studied apart from sleep in at least a few studies. In one study, fatigue was studied in patients undergoing hemodialysis for which fatigue is one of the most disturbing symptoms (Ahmadidarrehsima, Mohammadpourhodki, Ebrahimi, Keramati & Dianatinasab, 2018). In this study, foot massage and slow stroke back massage were performed twice per week for three weeks.…”