Effect of the Finger Grip Relaxation Technique on Pain Levels Among Children Who Underwent Abdominal Surgery.

backgroundChildren have a fundamental right to be free from pain, which can be managed through pharmaceutical and non-pharmacologic techniques, often most effective when combined. Pain is closely linked to tension, anxiety, and worry, but non-pharmacologic methods like guided visualization and cutaneous stimulation can reduce anxiety and alter pain perception. The finger grip relaxation technique, involving finger grasping, deep breathing, and muscle relaxation, helps relieve tension and improve pain tolerance. This method is suitable for use at home and in hospitals to reduce postoperative pain. The objectives are to assess pain levels after intervention in control and experimental groups and to compare postintervention pain levels between the two groups. METHODOLOGY: This study employed a quantitative research approach and utilized a quasi-experimental design, specifically a pretest-posttest design with a control group. The sample of the study consists of 60 children who had undergone abdominal surgery in the selected hospitals from the day of surgery after recovery from anesthesia. Participants were assigned into two groups, and the experimental group received the intervention finger grip relaxation technique for 30 minutes twice a day for four days. Based on the study objectives, demographic data and the numerical pain rating scale were used for the collection of data.

resultIn the experimental group, 63% (19) of the samples had mild pain and 37% (11) had moderate pain, whereas in the control group, 70% (21) of the samples had moderate pain and 30% (9) had severe pain. The posttest experimental group had a mean of 3.1 with a standard deviation (SD) of 0.7119, the control group had a mean of 5.96 with an SD of 1.3257, the t-value was 10.4343, and the p-value was 0.00001, which is less than 0.05. It shows that the finger grip relaxation technique is effective in reducing surgical incisional pain among children who had undergone abdominal surgery.

conclusionThe study concluded that children who had abdominal surgery experienced less pain in the experimental group compared to the control group. This shows that the finger grip relaxation technique was effective in reducing surgical pain. Before using the technique, most children in both groups had severe pain. However, after the technique was applied, the experimental group showed a significant reduction in pain levels compared to the control group.