Effect of Foot Reflexology Protocol on Premenstrual Syndrome Symptoms in Nursing Students: a Pre–Post Pilot Study

Abstract

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.

Associations between Diet and Changes in Pain Levels among Young Women with Premenstrual Syndrome—A Preliminary Study during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…This is particularly evident if yoga is used in conjunction with acupressure or/and acupuncture. These treatments, such as reflexology interventions on the feet, applied independently of exercises, are equally effective in reducing the mental and physical symptoms of PMS [ 33 , 34 , 35 ]. In our study, all participants were asked about their level of physical activity.…”

Effects of Satureja brevicalyx essential oil inhalation on coping premenstrual syndrome

“…8 In this situation, medicinal plants may play a key role in PMS treatment, since are women who commonly used medicinal herbal products. 9 Essential oils (EOs) have been used in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) for the prevention and treatment of diseases. 10 Aromatherapy is a component of CAM, which involves the inhalation of EOs, some of them used to counteract gynecological ailments.…”