Comparing the Effect of Foot Reflexology Massage and Familiar Sensory Stimulation on the Level of Consciousness of Trauma Patients Admitted to Intensive Care Units: A Clinical Trial Study

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is an acquired brain tissue injury with different severities that leads to a change in the patient’s level of consciousness.

The present study aimed to compare the impact of foot reflexology massage and familiar sensory stimulation on the level of consciousness of trauma patients admitted to the intensive care units (ICUs) of Khatam Al-Anbia Hospital in Zahedan in 2021.

This quasi-experimental study was conducted with a pretest-posttest design on 135 trauma patients with an altered level of consciousness admitted to the ICUs of Khatam Al-Anbia Hospital in Zahedan in 2021. The participants were selected using convenience sampling from the patients who met the inclusion criteria and were randomly assigned to 3 groups: Foot reflexology massage, familiar sensory stimulation, and control groups (each with 45 patients). The foot reflexology massage group received reflex massage on both feet for 30 minutes, the familiar sensory stimulation group received familiar sensory stimulation for 45 minutes, and the control group received ICU routine care. The interventions were carried out for 1 week in 2 morning and evening shifts. The patient’s consciousness level was measured and recorded using the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) 5 minutes before and 30 minutes after the intervention. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 22, as well as using analysis of variance (ANOVA), paired samples t-test, independent samples t-test, and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) at a significance level of 0.05 (P < 0.05).

The data showed that the average consciousness score for the patients in both foot reflexology massage and familiar sensory stimulation groups increased significantly after the intervention compared to the control group (P = 0.001), but the 2 interventions were not significantly different in improving the level of consciousness of the patients.

Foot reflexology massage and familiar sensory stimulation were both equally effective in increasing the level of consciousness of trauma patients with an altered level of consciousness, and none of them was superior to the other. Thus, nurses can use these 2 complementary medicine methods to speed up the improvement of consciousness of patients with TBI.