The effect of foot reflexology on pain and anxiety of male patients with chest trauma: A randomized clinical trial

StudyThe effect of foot reflexology on pain and anxiety of male patients with chest trauma: A randomized clinical trial D espite the increasing progress of science, technology, and industrialization of societies in recent decades, trauma is the leading cause of mortality and disabling conditions in individuals up to the age of 40. [1,2]Traffic accidents are the most frequent cause of trauma-related mortality, accounting for around 90% of all fatalities in less developed countries. [3]According to an Iranian study, 71.7% of patients admitted to the emergency room had head, neck, and chest trauma. [4]Given the potential for harm to essential organs such as the heart, lungs, major arteries, and trachea, attention to chest trauma is crucial.About 58.4% of cases of chest trauma are associated with complications to the pneumothorax, hemothorax, sternum, scapula, fracture of the clavicle and ribs, lung contusion, and heart damage. [5,6]The leading cause of death or disability among young workers worldwide is trauma. [3,7,8]In the United States, trauma kills 110,000 people annually and costs society $117 billion. [9] addition, 6000 out of every 100,000 disabilities per year are due to chest trauma. [5]The most common complications of Objectives: This study ascertained how foot reflexology affected pain and anxiety in male chest trauma patients.Methods: In Saveh, Iran, from November 2019 to January 2020, 49 chest trauma patients with blunt and penetrating chest injuries underwent this two-arm, double-blinded, and randomized controlled experiment.Patients were enrolled and randomly assigned to either the foot reflexology group (FRG) (n=25) or the control group (CG) (n=24), which received no treatment.The Visual Analog Scale and Spielberger state anxiety inventory, respectively, were used to assess each patient's pain intensity and anxiety before and after the intervention.After 25 min of reflexology on the reflection point in the right foot in the FRG, all treatments were carried out in the left foot.Apart from the intervention, patients in both groups were given routine care.Results: Before the intervention, there was no significant difference between foot reflexology and CG in regards to pain severity (69.1721.53 vs. 70.2819.61,p=0.53) and anxiety (56.3518.30vs. 54.9117.25,p=0.46).While after the intervention, pain severity and anxiety for the FRG (24.6314.18,23.7110.25)were significantly less than the CG (63.4620.17,48.5815.61)(p<0.001).Conclusion: Foot reflexology in male patients with chest trauma reduces pain and anxiety without increasing side effects.