Effects of foot massage on relieving pain, anxiety and improving quality of life of patients undergone a cervical spine surgery

Abstract

Background Long-term recovery of patients undergone cervical spine surgery is of paramount importance to improve their quality of life. In this study we aimed to evaluate the effects of foot massage on relieving pain and anxiety of patients with anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF). Methods Enrolled patients undergone ACDF and diagnosed with anxiety disorder at least six months before surgery were treated with 10-min foot massage on a daily basis for four weeks using sweet almond oil. Patients were assessed by neck pain visual analog pain scale (NP-VAS), neck disability index (NDI) and self-rating anxiety scale. Results More significant relief in NP-VAS was observed in patients who received foot massage treatment. No significant difference in NDI reduction was seen in patients with or without the treatment. Intervention group demonstrated less anxiety during follow-up (p = 0.021) compared to the control group and more reduction compared to baseline (p = 0.046). In terms of quality of life, while both groups demonstrated improvement in pain relief (p = 0.015 for the intervention group and p = 0.037 for the control group), only the intervention group showed improved mental function (p = 0.031). Conclusion This study found that foot massage was effective in alleviating pain and anxiety, while improving quality of life in patients undergone ACDF, indicating that this intervention should be considered in the clinical management of these patients.

Manual therapy interventions in the management of adults with prior cervical spine surgery for degenerative conditions: a scoping review

“…There was 1 RCT of low-quality with 63 participants and 1 RCT of acceptable-quality with 86 participants which met inclusion criteria [ 32 , 33 ]. Peolsson et al [ 32 ] investigated ACDF with postoperative structured physical therapy that included thoracic mobilization compared to structured physical therapy without ACDF for individuals with cervical radiculopathy.…”

“…Peolsson et al [ 32 ] investigated ACDF with postoperative structured physical therapy that included thoracic mobilization compared to structured physical therapy without ACDF for individuals with cervical radiculopathy. Ren et al [ 33 ] investigated the effects of foot massage on relieving pain, anxiety, and quality of life among patients that have undergone a cervical open reduction and internal fixation surgery.…”

“…The literature is almost exclusively comprised of low-level studies with 10 of 12 eligible studies consisting of case reports or series [ 34 – 42 ]. There was 1 low-quality RCT and 1 acceptable-quality RCT identified in the literature [ 32 , 33 ].…”

The investigation of effect on foot plantar massage on functional recovery in older adults with general surgery, randomized clinical trial

“…However, these values do not have clinically significant meaning. For example, the study by Parker et al introduced the concept of the minimal clinically important difference (MCID) to gauge the essential threshold for attaining treatment efficacy [49,50]. Definitive conclusions on the effect of foot massage intervention on clinical outcomes cannot be made as we did not associate them.…”

Study protocol of a randomized controlled trial for the synergizing effects of rTMS and Tui Na on upper limb motor function and cortical activity in ischemic stroke

“…Soreness and distension that was caused by Tui Na manipulation will excite the sensory cortex, thus inhibit reticular formation of brainstem and decrease the muscle tone (15). For more than two thousand years, traditional Chinese medicine therapists have been using Tui Na act on governor meridian-related acupoints to treat spinalrelated diseases and many visceral disorders (16). The spine is the pillar of the human body and the medium that connects the brain and the peripheral organs.…”