Effects of Foot Bath on Leg Edema and Fatigue among College Students

Abstract

Purpose: This study was conducted to examine the effect of foot-bath on lower extremities edema and fatigue among college students in Korea. Methods: This study used an quasi-experimental design with 56 participants (30 for experiments and 26 for controls). The experimental group performed 20-minute foot bath before sleep three times for one week. All subjects were directed to use their smart-phones to fill out a questionnaire about fatigue. Leg circumference was measured 10 minutes after foot bath. The test was performed from April 30th to May 22th in 2016. Data was analyzed using t-test and x2 test. Results: We found no difference in general characteristics between the experimental group and the control group. Left leg edema of the experimental group decreased by 16.63±14.57 mm (p<.001). The experimental group's right leg-edema decreased by 13.10±13.97 mm (p<.001). There was no statistically significant difference in their fatigue level when comparing before and after the foot baths. Conclusion: We found that doing foot baths for two weeks could have positive effects in reducing leg-edema among college students. Foot bath may be applied as an effective nursing intervention to decrease leg edema among young people. The results are based on a limited number of study samples and a short-term intervention. Further research can be performed with extended population and a prolonged study period.