Foot reflexology in feet impairment of people with type 2 diabetes mellitus: randomized trial

Effect of Reflexology on Decreasing Postoperative Pain and Anxiety After Total Abdominal Hysterectomy

Surgical patients experience both postoperative pain and anxiety, as they try to cope with pain. Despite technological advances, pharmacological methods are inadequate for decreasing postoperative pain and anxiety. Reflexology has been implemented and considered effective in these areas in many countries. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of reflexology on decreasing postoperative pain and anxiety after a hysterectomy. The study was an intervention randomized study. The population of the investigation is all patients who had a hysterectomy between February 2012 and December 2014 in the Istanbul University Obstetrics and Gynecology service. The sample was 100 women chosen after a power analysis (minimum: 74) (experimental: 54, control: 46) within the population of the investigation who agreed to participate in the study. Using a table of random numbers, patients in the sample were divided into groups. Data was collected using the patient information and vital signs form, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-I), Visual Analog Scale (VAS) Pain and Anxiety Scales, and BRIEF pain inventory. All women in the groups had similar sociodemographic, obstetric, and pain characteristics, past experience of illness, and characteristics related to their hysterectomy. All of the patients in the reflexology group stated that reflexology helped them feel better. The reflexology group compared with the control group had lower than the average VAS pain and VAS and STAI anxiety at all assessment times. Reflexology is effective in reducing anxiety and pain.

The Effectiveness of Massage Therapy on Healing of Diabetic Neuropathy in Diabetes Mellitus Patients

BACKGROUND: Diabetic neuropathy reduces the patient’s quality of life and the quality of diabetes management itself and, as a result, worsens the prognosis of other diabetic complications. Various complaints that are often felt by diabetes mellitus (DM) patients due to neuropathy include pain in the legs, numbness, and weakness in the affected leg, paresthesia, or numbness, and the absence of tendon reflexes in the affected leg. AIM: This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of electric massage therapy on neuropathy healing in DM patients. METHODS: The pre-test and post-test experimental design without a control group was employed. Patients with neuropathy diabetic were recruited as the subject of the study. The total number of participants in the study was 30 people. All the subjects were assessed for neuropathy using the neuropathy assessment instrument and the monofilament test. The Kolmogorov–Smirnov test was employed to analyze the normality of the data. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was employed for non-normally distributed data. The study used a 95% confidence interval, and significance was assessed at alpha <0.05. RESULTS: Mean difference test resulted that the Z value was −4.791; (p < 0.01). These results indicate that there was a statistically significant difference in the level of neuropathy before and after the massage therapy intervention. CONCLUSIONS: Foot massage therapy has a significant effect in reducing the complaints of diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN). It is recommended for the DPN patients to conduct foot massage independently regularly as an alternative treatment in-home care treatment.