J Korean Acad Community Health Nurs.  2014 Sep;25(3):207-216. 10.12799/jkachn.2014.25.3.207.

The Effects of Foot Reflexology on Arthralgia, Ankylosis, Depression, and Sleep in Community-dwelling Elderly Women with Osteoarthritis

• Kim CS
• Yoo KS
• Hong SH

• KMID: 2292713
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.12799/jkachn.2014.25.3.207

Abstract

PURPOSE
This study was conducted to examine the effects of foot reflexology on arthralgia, ankylosis, depression and sleep in community-dwelling elderly women with osteoarthritis.
METHODS
The research adopted a non-equivalent control group pretest-posttest design. Participants were 47 elderly women: 22 in the experimental group and 25 in the control group. The experimental group received foot reflexology twice a week for 4 weeks. The results were analyzed using chi2-test, t-test, and ANCOVA with the SPSS/WIN 21.0 program.
RESULTS
The results showed that foot reflexology was statistically significantly effective in reducing arthralgia, ankylosis, and depression and in improving the quality of sleep as evidenced by differences between two groups.
CONCLUSION
The results of this study indicated that foot reflexology is an effective nursing intervention in reducing arthralgia, ankylosis, and depression, and improving the quality of sleep. Therefore, it is necessary to develop foot reflexology as an independent nursing intervention for elderly women with osteoarthritis in community.

Keyword

Reflexology; Arthralgia; Ankylosis; Depression; Sleep

MeSH Terms

Aged*
Ankylosis*
Arthralgia*
Depression*
Female
Foot*
Humans
Massage*
Nursing
Osteoarthritis*