ABSTRACT

Background: By improving blood circulation, reflexive massage relaxes muscles and stimulates the parasympathetic nervous

Aim: To explore the effect of foot reflexive massage on physiological indicatorsofcerebrovascular accident (CVA) patients.

Methods: This study is a clinical trial that was performed on 60 CVA patients in the neurology department of Ali Ibn Abi Talib Hospital in Rafsanjan. The participants were selected through convenient sampling based on the inclusion criteria and then were placed into the two control and intervention groups using random minimization classification. The participants in the intervention group received foot reflexive massage, while the members of the control group received a simple foot sole massage for a 15-minute session for both feet. The data were collected using the demographic information questionnaire and the physiological index registration form immediately before the intervention and 10 and 30 minutes after the intervention and were analyzed with SPSS18 software using independent samples t-test, chi-square test, Fisher’s exact test, and a two-way repeated-measures ANOVA.

Results: The results showed that systolic and diastolic blood pressure and heart rate had a statistically significant decrease in the intervention group (p <0.05). However, there was no statistically significant difference for the participants in the control group in terms of blood pressure and heart rate. Furthermore, there was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of temperature changes, respiratory rate, and oxygen saturation(p <0.05).

Conclusion:Based on the findings of this study, foot reflexive massagecan be used to reduce systolic and diastolic blood pressure and heart rate in CVA patients.