Foot Reflexology: An Intervention for Pain and Nausea Among Inpatients With Cancer.

The study was a small pilot, with 40 completed participants, so it is not enough to establish a treatment effect for all inpatients with cancer. Outcomes were measured only immediately after one session, so the study does not show sustained relief. The control group did not receive equivalent nurse presence or touch, so the pain improvement cannot be separated from attention and contact. Participants knew the study purpose and may have felt obliged to report improvement after receiving reflexology. The RN delivering the intervention was not blinded, and the study did not use a sham foot massage control. Comorbidities such as neuropathy were not excluded, so they may have affected pain or nausea ratings. Recruitment relied on unit staff distributing flyers, and staff priorities meant not all eligible patients may have been reached. Some participants used other integrative therapies in the two hours before the session, which may have influenced pain or nausea ratings. The nausea result was not statistically significant, so it does not support a clear antiemetic effect.

The publication types list NIH extramural and non-U.S. government research support. The supplied article text does not include an author conflict-of-interest declaration.

Do not conclude that reflexology alone caused the pain reduction. The control group did not receive equivalent nurse presence and touch, so the effect of the reflexology technique cannot be separated from the attention and contact. Do not treat nausea as improved, because the study did not show the change was beyond chance.