Trial reportBMC complementary medicine and therapies2023
The effects of foot reflexology on symptoms of discomfort in palliative care: a feasibility study.
Trial report in BMC complementary medicine and therapies, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 10 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effectiveness of manual therapy on physical and mental health promotion in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Pooled it
- Changes of cerebral functional connectivity induced by foot reflexology in a RCT.Scientific reports · 2023Trial
- Comparing the Efficacy of Acupressure and Foot Reflexology on Sleep Quality in Patients With Leukemia: A Comparative Clinical Trial.Integrative cancer therapiesTrial
- Acupoint massage: a comprehensive descriptive review of its forms, applications, and underlying mechanisms.Chinese medicine · 2025Review
- Quality indicators and patient outcome measures for palliative care in cancer patients: a systematic review.Ecancermedicalscience · 2025Review
- Exploring the Efficacy of Plantar Reflexology as a Complementary Approach for Headache Management: A Comprehensive Review.International journal of therapeutic massage & bodywork · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIn palliative care, the relief of discomfort is sought by an overall approach, combining prescribed medication and additional therapies, such as foot reflexology (FR). The main objective of this study was to assess the feasibility of FR in a population of inpatients in a palliative care unit (PCU).The precariousness of the patients led us to perform a feasibility study and not a cohort study from the outset. Its secondary objective was to assess the impact of an FR session on some symptoms of discomfort (anxiety, pain, troubled sleep, and psychological distress).
methodsThis is a feasibility study designed as a randomized controlled two-arm therapeutic trial. One arm tested FR, the other an active control, massage therapy (MT). The evaluators were blinded.
resultsFR was feasible for 14 patients out of the 15 included in the FR group (95% CI [68%; 100%]). These patients were in the palliative care phase of cancer, motor neuron disease, or terminal organ failure. Concerning the symptoms of discomfort, ESAS sleep quality score was on average 3.9 (± 2.5) before a session in the FR group. It was improved to an average of 3 (± 2.3) on the day after the session (effect-size = 0.38 [0.03; 0.73]).
conclusionThis study confirms the feasibility of an FR session for patients hospitalized in a PCU. It resulted in a slight improvement in sleep quality. For other discomfort symptoms such as anxiety, pain and distress, FR yielded a non-significant improvement. Significant results would have needed a larger cohort.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.