Effects of Foot Reflexology on Post-sternotomy Hemodynamic Status and Pain in Patients Undergoing Coronary Artery Bypass Graft: A Randomized Clinical Trial

There are contradictory results regarding the effects of foot reflexology on postoperative pain and hemodynamic status in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG). Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the effects of foot reflexology on post-sternotomy pain and physiological parameters in patients undergoing CABG.

This randomized clinical trial was conducted on 40 women in Shahid Madani hospital of Tabriz in 2019. The sample size was determined based on previous studies using a formula and the participants were randomly assigned to treatment (n=20) and control (n=20) groups. In addition, all participants completed a three-part questionnaire (i.e., demographics, the visual analog scale, and hemodynamic symptoms forms) before and 40 minutes after the intervention. Then, the women in the test group received 20 minutes of left foot reflexology based on the existing method while those in the control group received no intervention. The data were statistically analyzed using the Kolmogorov–Smirnov and chi-square tests, as well as the paired sample and independent t tests at the significance level less than 0.05.

The results indicated that the intervention significantly reduced systolic (P = 0.001) and diastolic (P = 0.005) blood pressures, along with heart (P = 0.003) and respiratory (P = 0.041) rates. Further, foot reflexology significantly decreased the severity of postoperative pain in the treatment group (P = 0.003).

Overall, the study findings revealed that foot reflexology had positive effects on the stability of hemodynamic status and thus relieved postoperative pain in patients undergoing CABG.