Effect of Foot Reflexology Massage and Foot Bath on the Sleep Quality of Patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome: A Comparative Study

Abstract

Objectives: Cardiovascular diseases, especially coronary artery diseases, result in sleep disturbance. Myocardial muscle oxygen demand rises in sleep disturbance. Also, the possibility of cardiovascular risks such as re-infarction and dysrhythmias increases. As a result, removing sleep disorders is very important. The current study aimed at assessing the effect of foot reflexology massage and foot bath methods on sleep quality of the patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) through a comparative study. Methods:The current semi-experimental study was conducted on 3 groups of patients with ACS admitted to coronary care units (CCUs) of Baqiyatallah (AJ) hospital of Tehran, Iran. Samples of the study included 35 patients for each group (105 patients in all the groups) selected among the available hospitals and divided into 3 groups (foot reflexology massage, foot bath, and control) through random allocation. According to the related program, patients of the intervention groups were under intervention for 2 nights from the 2nd night of hospitalization and sleep quality was assessed through Verran and Snyder-Halpern (VSH) subjective sleep quality questionnaire before and after the intervention. Then, data analysis was done through SPSS version21 by descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: There was no significant statistical difference among the 3 groups regarding sleep disturbance and supplementary sleep after interventions (P > 0.05), but there was a significant statistical difference between the groups and at different time regarding the effectiveness after intervention (P < 0.05). The obtained results indicated that each of the interventions alone can result in improvement of sleep quality, but there was no significant statistical difference among them. Conclusions: Foot massage and foot bath positive effect on the sleep quality of patients with ACS can be used as a complementary action.

Effect of the use of earplugs and eye masks on the quality of sleep after major abdominal surgery: a randomised controlled trial

“…Our findings are in contrast with the findings of a systematic review on the effect of earplugs and eye masks on quality of sleep in the ICU [7], in which, out of 18 studies [11,[20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36] that evaluated subjective sleep quality using questionnaires, 17 [11,[20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34]36] found improvements in sleep quality with the use of earplugs and eye masks, and only one study [35] did not find any improvement. These studies, however, were conducted in critically ill patients in an ICU setting [20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][...…”

Footbath as a safe, simple, and non‐pharmacological method to improve sleep quality of menopausal women

“…The authors suggested warm footbath may have a positive impact on pain relief. Considering the decreased sleep quality in patients hospitalized in CCUs, Naseri et al (2016) evaluated the effect of foot reflexology massage and foot baths on the sleep quality of patients with acute coronary syndrome. The authors concluded that a footbath and foot massage alone can enhance sleep quality in patients with acute coronary syndrome.…”

The effects of sleep hygiene education and reflexology on sleep quality and fatigue in patients receiving chemotherapy

“…In a randomized controlled study which was conducted by Kheyri et al, the results were similar to our results: the mean post‐test scores of elderly women who did not have reflexology after abdominal surgery increased while their sleep quality decreased (Kheyrı, Bastanı, & Haghanı, ). Naseri et al found that patients with acute coronary syndrome had a decreased sleep quality when they were not given reflexology and foot baths (Naseri, Rahmani, Nerir, Salari, & Farahani, ). In the studies cited, it was found that sleep quality decreases in patients who were not given reflexology, yet the results of our study are compatible with the literature.…”