Aromatherapy Massage vs. Foot Reflexology on the Severity of Restless Legs Syndrome in Female Patients Undergoing Hemodialysis.

Mahbobeh Ghasemi,Majideh Heravi-Karimooi,Mojtaba Vaismoradi,Tahereh Bahrami,Seyed Davood Tadrisi,Nahid Rejeh

doi:10.3390/geriatrics6040099

Abstract

This study aimed to compare the effects of reflexology and aromatherapy massage on the severity of restless legs syndrome (RLS) in 105 female patients undergoing hemodialysis. A randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial was conducted in a hemodialysis center with 48 beds in a high turnover hospital in an urban area of Iran. Intervention groups received reflexology (n = 35) and aromatherapy massage using lavender essential oil (n = 35) for 24 sessions, and the placebo group (n = 35) received simple foot massage. The restless legs syndrome rating scale was used to assess RLS severity in the groups before the intervention and after 4 and 8 weeks of the interventions. Results obtained by the mixed model analysis 3 * 3 (3 groups * 3 times) revealed the significant effect of time, group, and the time–group interrelationship (p = 0.001). Aromatherapy massage reduced the RLS severity, but reflexology did not appear to cause any significant reduction in it. Therefore, we suggest that aromatherapy massage be incorporated into routine care for relieving the ailment and suffering of patients undergoing hemodialysis.

Highlights

The outcome measure was the comparison of the effects of reflexology and aromatherapy massage on Restless legs syndrome (RLS) symptoms before and after the interventions (Figure 1)
Our research hypothesis that reflexology and aromatherapy massage had similar effects on RLS severity was not supported. This can be attributed to some extent to the addition of lavender essential oil to reflexology massage in the aromatherapy massage group
Aromatherapy massage was shown to be more effective than reflexology on the alleviation of RLS severity in female patients undergoing hemodialysis

Summary

Introduction

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) undergo hemodialysis until kidney transplantation becomes an option. Hemodialysis is accompanied by complications in the nervous system such as sensorimotor neuropathy [1]. Restless legs syndrome (RLS), as a common sensorimotor disorder, is characterized by the patient’s complaint of a strong irresistible urge to move their limbs [2,3]. It has been reported that 30–50% of patients with

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