ABTRACTObjective:to evaluate the effectiveness of massage and reiki in the reduction of stress and anxiety in clients at the Institute for Integrated and Oriental Therapy in Sao Paulo (Brazil). Method:clinical tests randomly done in parallel with an initial sample of 122 people divided into three groups: Massage + Rest (G1), Massage + Reiki (G2) and a Control group without intervention (G3). The Stress Systems list and the Trace State Anxiety Inventory were used to evaluate the groups at the start and after 8 sessions (1 month), during 2015. Results:there were statistical differences (p = 0.000) according to the ANOVA (Analysis of Variance) for the stress amongst the groups 2 and 3 (p = 0.014) with a 33% reductions and a Cohen of 0.78. In relation to anxiety-state, there was a reduction in the intervention groups compared with the control group (p < 0.01) with a 21% reduction in group 2 (Cohen of 1.18) and a 16% reduction for group 1 (Cohen of 1.14). Conclusion:Massage + Reiki produced better results amongst the groups and the conclusion is for further studies to be done with the use of a placebo group to evaluate the impact of the technique separate from other techniques. RBR-42c8wp

Background: Premenstrual syndrome is a highly prevalent cyclical disorder among women of childbearing age which interferes with daily activities, mood, and quality of life. Purpose: To evaluate the effects of a foot reflexology protocol on relieving pre-menstrual syndrome symptoms in nurs-ing students. Setting: Nursing School, São Paulo Uni-versity, Brazil. Participants: A convenience sample of 17 nursing students, diagnosed with moderate-to-severe premenstrual syn-drome as assessed by the Premenstrual Symptoms Screening Tool (PSST). Research design: A pre–post pilot inter-vention study. Intervention: The intervention consist-ed of eight reflexology sessions lasting 30 minutes for eight weeks. Main Outcome Measure: Evaluation of the participants by the PSST applied at the beginning and at the end of the study. Results: The participants had an average age of 21.7 (±2.6) years, ranging from 19 to 28 years; all were single, and most were in the third year of the course (58.8%); 75.6% lived with their family; 82.4% do not use contraceptives; 64.7% reported regular menstrual flow with an average duration of 5.1 (±1.1) days, and an average menstrual cycle interval of 29.3 (±4.9) days. The intervention significantly reduced the premenstrual symptoms assessed by the PSST (p<.017) with a pre–post difference of 10.2 points in the overall score, and the items score decreased between 1.2 to 3.4 for difficulty concentrating, insomnia, hy-persomnia, feeling overwhelmed, muscle/joint pain, bloating, weight gain; and be-tween 3.5 to 5.2 to anger/irritability, anxiety/tension, tearful, depressed mood, de-creased interest in daily activities, fatigue, overeating, and breast tenderness. There was a significant decrease regarding the functional impact of premenstrual symp-toms domain in the overall score with a pre–post difference of 10.7, and between 1.7 and 3.0 for all of the items (p<.04), except for the item “your home responsibilities”. Conclusion: Foot reflexology has shown promising results in reducing premen-strual syndrome symptoms.