Abstract:Background
In palliative care, the relief of discomfort is sought by an overall approach, combining prescribed medication and additional therapies, such as foot reflexology (FR). The main objective of this study was to assess the feasibility of FR in a population of inpatients in a palliative care unit (PCU).The precariousness of the patients led us to perform a feasibility study and not a cohort study from the outset. Its secondary objective was to assess the impact of an FR session on some sy… Show more
“…The zones of stimulation were the reflexes of the spine, which stimulate the nervous system, responsible for maintaining homeostasis and the diaphragm reflex, as shown in Fig. 6 , 6 , 55 – 57 . Figure 6 Schema of the reflexology protocol and the stimulated reflex zones.…”
Non-Pharmacological Interventions (NPIs) are increasingly being introduced into healthcare, but their mechanisms are unclear. In this study, 30 healthy participants received foot reflexology (FR) and sham massage, and went through a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) to evaluate NPIs effect on brain. Rs-fMRI revealed an effect of both NPIs on functional connectivity with changes occurring in the default-mode network, the sensorimotor network and a Neural Network Correlates of Pain (NNCP—a newly discovered network showing great robustness). Even if no differences were found between FR and SM, this study allowed to report brain biomarkers of well-being as well as the safety of NPIs. In further research, it could be relevant to study it in patients to look for a true reflexology induced-effect dependent of patient reported outcomes. Overall, these findings enrich the understanding of the neural correlates of well-being experienced with NPIs and provided insight into the basis of the mechanisms of NPIs.
“…The zones of stimulation were the reflexes of the spine, which stimulate the nervous system, responsible for maintaining homeostasis and the diaphragm reflex, as shown in Fig. 6 , 6 , 55 – 57 . Figure 6 Schema of the reflexology protocol and the stimulated reflex zones.…”
Non-Pharmacological Interventions (NPIs) are increasingly being introduced into healthcare, but their mechanisms are unclear. In this study, 30 healthy participants received foot reflexology (FR) and sham massage, and went through a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) to evaluate NPIs effect on brain. Rs-fMRI revealed an effect of both NPIs on functional connectivity with changes occurring in the default-mode network, the sensorimotor network and a Neural Network Correlates of Pain (NNCP—a newly discovered network showing great robustness). Even if no differences were found between FR and SM, this study allowed to report brain biomarkers of well-being as well as the safety of NPIs. In further research, it could be relevant to study it in patients to look for a true reflexology induced-effect dependent of patient reported outcomes. Overall, these findings enrich the understanding of the neural correlates of well-being experienced with NPIs and provided insight into the basis of the mechanisms of NPIs.
Background: Among leukemia patients, sleep disruptions are prevalent and can profoundly affect their overall quality of life. Acupressure and foot reflexology, modalities rooted in traditional Chinese medicine, have garnered attention for their potential to address sleep disturbances and mitigate associated symptoms. Methods: This research utilized a randomized controlled trial with a pretest-posttest design involving 102 leukemia patients admitted to Imam Khomeini Hospital in Urmia. Participants were randomly allocated to 3 groups: acupressure (n = 34), reflexology (n = 34), or control (n = 34). Prior to the intervention, patients completed a demographic survey and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) for baseline assessments. Acupressure involved stimulation of the SP6 point twice daily for 10 minutes over 4 weeks, while reflexology entailed daily 10-minute sessions with sweet almond oil on the soles for the same duration. The control group received standard care without additional interventions. Following the 4-week intervention period, post-intervention evaluations were conducted using identical measurement tools. Results: The findings underscored the efficacy of both acupressure and foot reflexology in significantly improving sleep quality within the intervention groups ( P < .001). Initially, there were no notable differences in sleep quality among the 3 groups ( P > .05). Subsequently, pairwise comparisons adjusted with Bonferroni corrections revealed significant disparities in sleep quality between the acupressure and reflexology groups compared to the control group ( P < .001). However, post-intervention analysis indicated no statistically significant variance in enhancing sleep quality between the acupressure and foot reflexology groups ( P < .05). Conclusion: This study demonstrates that acupressure and foot reflexology interventions can enhance sleep quality in individuals with leukemia. These findings support the effectiveness of these complementary modalities, offering targeted relief and relaxation. While these non-invasive therapies show promise in improving well-being, further research is needed to confirm and expand upon these results due to study limitations.
Dans l’objectif de comprendre les effets spécifiques et les mécanismes sous-jacents à la réflexologie plantaire, la connectivité fonctionnelle de repos de différents réseaux cérébraux ainsi que différentes mesures électro-physiologiques et de bien-être ont été étudiées. Pour cela une séance brève de réflexologie plantaire a été réalisée dans une population de volontaires sains, en comparaison d’une séance de massage fictif (contrôle). A la suite des deux interventions, cette étude a montré un changement de connectivité fonctionnelle au niveau des réseaux par défaut, sensorimoteur et d’un réseau lié à la douleur nouvellement proposé, indépendamment du groupe. Une amélioration de différents paramètres biologiques et du bien-être subjectif des sujets a aussi été mise en évidence après la réflexologie plantaire comme le massage, ce qui tend à mettre en avant un effet de prise en charge globale des interventions non-médicamenteuses. Ces résultats sont prometteurs en vue de prochaines études sur des populations de patients.
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