Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39917912›Full record

Trial reportReviews on recent clinical trials2025

The Effect of Foot Reflexology on the Sexual Function of Lactating Women: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Zahra Ghanbari, Mahboubeh Valiani, Shahnaz Kohan

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Reviews on recent clinical trials, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Zahra GhanbariDepartment of Midwifery and Reproductive Health, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.ORCID 0009-0009-6344-7591
Mahboubeh ValianiDepartment of Midwifery and Reproductive Health, Reproductive Sciences and Sexual Health Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.ORCID 0000-0003-3955-4628
Shahnaz KohanDepartment of Midwifery and Reproductive Health, Reproductive Sciences and Sexual Health Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.ORCID 0000-0003-1479-2160

Funding

Isfahan University of Medical Sciences
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionSexual health is an essential part of women's lives at different ages. Pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding can affect women's sexual function by inducing biological, psychological, and social changes. Due to the prevalence of sexual dysfunction in lactating women and the effects of reflexology therapies on it, this study was conducted to investigate the effect of foot reflexology on the sexual function of lactating women. MATERIALS AND

methodsThis randomized clinical trial was conducted in selected health centers of Isfahan in 2022 on 64 lactating women (32 women in each group of intervention and control). The samples were selected using the convenience sampling method and were randomly divided into two groups with a random number table. Each participant in the intervention group received 10 sessions of foot reflexology, and each session lasted for 50 minutes (25 minutes for each foot) and was held every three days. The Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) questionnaire was completed before the intervention and four weeks after the end of it. The control group received routine care and completed the questionnaire before the intervention and 9 weeks later. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20 and independent/paired t-tests.

resultsData analysis showed that the subjects of the two groups were homogeneous in demographic and fertility characteristics at the beginning of the study. The total mean score of sexual function in the intervention group was 20.36 ± 4.16 before the intervention and 28.05 ± 2.89 after the intervention. In the control group, this score was 20.51 ± 3.75 before the intervention and 20.54 ± 3.71 nine weeks after it. A comparison of the total mean score of sexual function and dimensions showed a significant difference between the two groups four weeks after the intervention (p 60;0.001). In the intervention group, significant changes were observed in the total mean score of sexual function and its dimensions four weeks after the intervention compared to before the intervention. However, in the control group, there were no significant changes in this score and its dimensions nine weeks later compared to before the intervention.

conclusionBased on the results of this study, lactating women in the two groups did not have a desirable sexual function before the intervention. However, foot reflexology in the present study could effectively improve the sexual function of women in the reflexology group. Therefore, it is recommended to employ foot reflexology therapy in health centers to help lactating women restore their sexual function.

Indexed as

FootLactationMassageSexual Dysfunction, PhysiologicalAdultFemaleHumansSurveys and Questionnairesclinical trialFoot reflexologylactationpostpartum womensexual functionsexual health.

Identifiers

PMID39917912

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.