Effects of Reflexology Practices on Quality of Life in Türkiye: A Systematic Review

One of the frequently used complementary health practices is reflexology. Reflexology may be helpful for various health disorders and enhance quality of life, according to research findings. However, before it can be widely used for health promotion, strong evidence of efficacy and safety must be demonstrated. The purpose of this systematic review is to assess the clinical trials completed in Türkiye to investigate the influence of reflexology on quality of life and to provide a conclusion with more evidentiary value to the literature. The review questions are (a) How does reflexology affect people's quality of life? (b) In what circumstances does reflexology usage affect a person's quality of life? (c) What suggestions are there for more research? Reflexology can reduce symptoms in conditions such as low back pain, irritable bowel syndrome, constipation, menopause, cancer (cervix, endometrial or ovarian, colorectal cancers), multiple sclerosis, overactive bladder and spastic cerebral palsy and can improve quality of life. However, although reflexology is an effective technique, the lack of research with a low risk of bias prevents any concrete recommendations from being made. Quality clinical trials evaluating the effectiveness of reflexology in improving quality of life appear to provide less than expected evidence. In conclusion, the factors used to evaluate the quality of studies in this review should be considered and, future research should focus on improving study quality.