Effect of Foot Reflexology on Blood Pressure and Pulse Rate: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Khon Kaen University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Reflexology, Hypertension, Acupressure, Traditional Medicine

Treatments: Procedure: foot reflexology

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT04516005

HE611181

Details and patient eligibility

About

Hypertension (HT) has been known for its prominent risk of cardiovascular events. Although there are various pharmacological choices, many patients fail to adhere with them. Therefore, adjunctive non-pharmacological treatment is a promising approach. Foot Reflexology is one of a complementary therapies that has been proved for its ability to decrease blood pressure (BP), however, there is limited data in patients with stage-2 HT. We aimed to examine the effectiveness of foot reflexology as adjunctive therapy for BP lowering. This was a single-center randomized clinical trial. Hypertensive patients who were regularly followed up at the hypertension clinic were enrolled and randomized into the intervention group (n=47) and control group (n=47). Foot reflexology was performed in the intervention group during a clinical visit. Office BP and pulse rate (PR) were measured before and immediately at 15 minutes (min) and 30 min after the procedure in the intervention group and after resting in the control group.

Full description

Background Hypertension (HT) has been known for its prominent risk of cardiovascular events. Although there are various pharmacological choices, many patients fail to adhere to them. Therefore, adjunctive non-pharmacological treatment is a promising approach. Foot Reflexology is one of the complementary therapies that has been proved for its ability to decrease blood pressure (BP), however, there is limited data in patients with stage-2 HT.

Objective To examine the effectiveness of foot reflexology as adjunctive therapy for BP lowering.

Methods This was a single-center randomized clinical trial. Hypertensive patients who were regularly followed up at the hypertension clinic were enrolled and randomized into the intervention group (n=47) and control group (n=47). Foot reflexology was performed in the intervention group during a clinical visit. Office BP and pulse rate (PR) were measured before and immediately at 15 minutes (min) and 30 min after the procedure in the intervention group and after resting in the control group.

Enrollment: 94 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 80 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Diagnosed stage-2 HT (defined by office SBP≥140 mmHg and/or DBP ≥90 mmHg at first hospital visit)
• On stable anti-HT drugs for at least 3 months before enrollment.

Exclusion criteria

• Pregnant women
• History of foot surgery or bone fracture
• Skin disease of the foot
• Diabetes neuropathy

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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94 participants in 2 patient groups

foot reflexology

Experimental group

Description:

Foot reflexology was performed in every participant in the foot reflexology group after resting for 5 minutes in a sitting position by the same researcher who was trained and certified by the Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine, Ministry of Health.

Treatment:

Procedure: foot reflexology

control

No Intervention group

Description:

The control group received conventional treatment including anti-HT medications according to the standard HT guideline's recommendations. In the end of the follow-up visit, every participants were informed to adhere to their medication and were encouraged to have healthy lifestyles including salt restriction, regular exercise, and consuming healthy diets.