The Effects of Aroma Foot Massage on Blood Pressure and Anxiety in Japanese Community-Dwelling Men and Women: A Crossover Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to investigate the effects of aroma foot massage on blood pressure, anxiety, and health-related quality of life (QOL) in Japanese community-dwelling men and women using a crossover randomized controlled trial.MethodsFifty-seven eligible participants (5 men and 52 women) aged 27 to 72 were randomly divided into 2 intervention groups (group A: n = 29; group B: n = 28) to participate in aroma foot massages 12 times during the 4-week intervention period. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP, respectively), heart rate, state anxiety, and health-related QOL were measured at the baseline, 4-week follow-up, and 8-week follow-up. The effects of the aroma foot massage intervention on these factors and the proportion of participants with anxiety were analyzed using a linear mixed-effect model for a crossover design adjusted for participant and period effects. Furthermore, the relationship between the changes in SBP and state anxiety among participants with relieved anxiety was assessed using a linear regression model.ResultsAroma foot massage significantly decreased the mean SBP (p = 0.02), DBP (p = 0.006), and state anxiety (p = 0.003) as well as the proportion of participants with anxiety (p = 0.003). Although it was not statistically significant (p = 0.088), aroma foot massage also increased the score of mental health-related QOL. The change in SBP had a significant and positive correlation with the change in state anxiety (p = 0.01) among participants with relieved anxiety.ConclusionThe self-administered aroma foot massage intervention significantly decreased the mean SBP and DBP as well as the state anxiety score, and tended to increase the mental health-related QOL scores. The results suggest that aroma foot massage may be an easy and effective way to improve mental health and blood pressure.Trial RegistrationUniversity Hospital Medical Information Network 000014260

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“…Eguchi et al, study was conducted on Japanese men and women; the findings of this study showed that massage therapy could reduce anxiety and improve quality of life. However, this reduction in anxiety was not significant, unlike the present study according to which reflexology resulted in a significant reduction in anxiety 16 . The results of Peng et al, study (2015) showed that massage led to anxiety reduction in cardiovascular patients prior to invasive procedures, which turned out to be consistent with the findings of the present study 17 .…”

Effect of aromatherapy massage on anxiety, depression, and physiologic parameters in older patients with the acute coronary syndrome: A randomized clinical trial

“…In this study, changes in BP were seen in those participants with reduced anxiety and depression after the intervention. As other studies also indicated that BP was decreased with the reduction of anxiety, it was believed that aroma foot massage might reduce BP through reducing the participant's anxiety (Eguchi et al, ). In addition, other studies also reported the decreased levels of SBP, DBP, and MBP after aroma self‐foot reflexology massage (Bahrami, Rejeh, Heravi Karimooi, Tadrisi, & Amin, ; Hur et al, ; Kim & Kim, ).…”

Complementary medicine for treatment of agitation and delirium in older persons: a systematic review and narrative synthesis

“…Another potential selection bias may have been caused by the possible overlap of agitation and anxiety. While some evidence has been found in the literature regarding the effectiveness of CAM therapies in anxious states (Salach, 2006;Eguchi et al, 2016;Strauss et al, 2014), these therapies may actually treat the "agitated" clinical features of anxiety. Such therapies should be redefined as "anti-agitation" instead of "anti-anxiety" in order to be included in our study.…”

“…Considering the prevalence of delirium and agitation among older persons and the limitations of standard care for these conditions, we propose examining whether CAM techniques may play a safe and effective role in this setting. Because CAM therapies are often used to treat mental/emotional disturbances (Deng and Wang 2016;Eguchi et al, 2016;Avisar et al, 2012;Zeng et al, 2013;Zhang et al, 2015;Rodriguez-Mansilla et al, 2015), we assumed they may be considered in treating agitation and delirium in older persons. We therefore chose to carry out a systematic assessment of the impact and mechanisms of action of both pharmacological and non-pharmacological CAM therapies in treating agitation and delirium.…”