The effect of reflexology massage on physiological parameters in patients with chronic low back pain

Low back pain is a common complaint in communities which has negative effects on different aspects of life. An effective method for reduction of low back pain complications is foot reflexology. Foot reflexology has a positive effect in reduction of complications in low back pain. Foot reflexology reduces respiratory rate، blood pressure and pulse rate. This study is an investigation of the influence of foot reflexology on physiological parameters in patients with low back pain.

In this quasi- experimental study، 150 men with low back pain who were visited in Baghiatallah hospital in Tehran were selected by purposive sampling. The patients were randomly allocated into three groups: experimental (foot reflexology was applied in real points once a week for three week)، control and sham (massage was applied with lower pressure in all points once a week for three weeks). Date was collected by stethoscope and sphygmomanometer; the content validity and reliability of tools was confirmed. For analyze of data، SPSS 18 and kruskal- wallis and chi- squre tests were used.

The results indicated that mean of physiological parameters before intervention in 3 groups were not significantly different (p>0. 05) but after the intervention، mean blood pressure and respiratory rate reduced in all three groups (p<0. 05).

The study showed that foot reflexology reduces physiological parameters; thus it is recommended that nurses use this method for patient relief.