Treatment Trial of Thermoregulatory Disturbances in Adolescent Anorexia Nervosa Patients With Either Ginger Powder Footbaths or Warm Water Footbaths

ARCIM Institute Academic Research in Complementary and Integrative Medicine

Status: Completed

Conditions: Adolescent Anorexia Nervosa

Treatments: Other: warm water only footbath; Other: ginger powder footbath

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03886207

ANS_03

Details and patient eligibility

About

A study to explore whether warm water footbaths with added ginger powder can improve thermoregulatory processes in adolescent anorexia nervosa patients and provide them with an increase in subjective feeling of warmth. The participants will receive a warm footbath four times a week for six weeks with a physiological and psychological testing point once before the beginning of the six-week footbath period and once after.

Full description

This is a two-arm randomized controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of warm water footbaths with added ginger powder (experimental) compared to warm water only footbaths (control) in adolescent anorexia nervosa patients. Participants will receive footbaths 4 times per week before bed-time over a period of six weeks.The main focus is on subjective increase in overall body warmth. Moreover, core body temperature, skin temperature at the extremities and several psychological as well as physiological scores and parameters are assessed before and after the six-week intervention. A follow-up is planned at six months post intervention, where core body temperature, physiological and psychological parameters are once more tested.

Enrollment: 24 patients

Sex: Female

Ages: 8 to 18 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• main diagnosis: Anorexia nervosa
• written informed consent of participants and legal guardians

Exclusion criteria

• other eating disorder diagnosis apart from Anorexia nervosa
• known allergic reaction to ginger

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

---

24 participants in 2 patient groups

Warm water with ginger powder footbath

Experimental group

Description:

Participants who receive a warm water with added ginger powder footbath four times a week over a six-week period.

Treatment:

Other: ginger powder footbath

Warm water only footbath

Active Comparator group

Description:

Participants who receive a warm water only footbath four times a week over a six-week period.

Treatment:

Other: warm water only footbath