Foot reflexology on nausea and vomiting: A systematic review

Nausea and vomiting are physiological responses that react to various bodily conditions and play a protective function. Medicinal and nonmedicinal methods, including complementary medicine, treat nausea and vomiting. The current research aims to investigate the effectiveness of foot reflexology as a...

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Main Authors: Soheila Shamsikhani, Mahsa Hosseini
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2025-01-01
Series:Journal of Integrative Nursing
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Online Access:https://journals.lww.com/jinm/fulltext/2025/01000/foot_reflexology_on_nausea_and_vomiting__a.6.aspx
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author Soheila Shamsikhani
Mahsa Hosseini
author_facet Soheila Shamsikhani
Mahsa Hosseini
author_sort Soheila Shamsikhani
collection DOAJ
description Nausea and vomiting are physiological responses that react to various bodily conditions and play a protective function. Medicinal and nonmedicinal methods, including complementary medicine, treat nausea and vomiting. The current research aims to investigate the effectiveness of foot reflexology as a complementary medicine method for nausea and vomiting. Based on PRISMA 2020, PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus were searched until October 2, 2024, using a search strategy approved by two researchers. Only randomized controlled trial studies were included in this research. No limitations or filters were applied. The inclusion criteria were selected based on the PICOS framework, and the studies were evaluated according to the National Institutes of Health quality assessment tool, which is related to controlled intervention, and were evaluated by two researchers. Finally, six studies were included in this review. Eighty-four percent of studies were conducted in Asia. Three records are from Iran, and two are from Turkey, and one is from France. The results showed that nausea and vomiting improved in all studies. In most studies (67%), four sessions or less led to improved outcomes. Rhodes index of nausea, vomiting, and retching and visual analog scale were utilized to assess nausea and vomiting. The current systematic review indicated that foot reflexology as a noninvasive intervention could improve nausea and vomiting in patients with cancer problems, pregnancy, hemodialysis, and laparoscopic cholecystectomy.
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spelling doaj-art-32aa0252c00344e0b44a12e0f8dccac92025-08-20T03:14:39ZengWolters Kluwer Medknow PublicationsJournal of Integrative Nursing2666-98542663-44812025-01-0171424710.4103/jin.jin_7_25Foot reflexology on nausea and vomiting: A systematic reviewSoheila ShamsikhaniMahsa HosseiniNausea and vomiting are physiological responses that react to various bodily conditions and play a protective function. Medicinal and nonmedicinal methods, including complementary medicine, treat nausea and vomiting. The current research aims to investigate the effectiveness of foot reflexology as a complementary medicine method for nausea and vomiting. Based on PRISMA 2020, PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus were searched until October 2, 2024, using a search strategy approved by two researchers. Only randomized controlled trial studies were included in this research. No limitations or filters were applied. The inclusion criteria were selected based on the PICOS framework, and the studies were evaluated according to the National Institutes of Health quality assessment tool, which is related to controlled intervention, and were evaluated by two researchers. Finally, six studies were included in this review. Eighty-four percent of studies were conducted in Asia. Three records are from Iran, and two are from Turkey, and one is from France. The results showed that nausea and vomiting improved in all studies. In most studies (67%), four sessions or less led to improved outcomes. Rhodes index of nausea, vomiting, and retching and visual analog scale were utilized to assess nausea and vomiting. The current systematic review indicated that foot reflexology as a noninvasive intervention could improve nausea and vomiting in patients with cancer problems, pregnancy, hemodialysis, and laparoscopic cholecystectomy.https://journals.lww.com/jinm/fulltext/2025/01000/foot_reflexology_on_nausea_and_vomiting__a.6.aspxcomplementary medicinefoot reflexologynausea and vomitingreflexologysystematic review
spellingShingle Soheila Shamsikhani
Mahsa Hosseini
Foot reflexology on nausea and vomiting: A systematic review
Journal of Integrative Nursing
complementary medicine
foot reflexology
nausea and vomiting
reflexology
systematic review
title Foot reflexology on nausea and vomiting: A systematic review
title_full Foot reflexology on nausea and vomiting: A systematic review
title_fullStr Foot reflexology on nausea and vomiting: A systematic review
title_full_unstemmed Foot reflexology on nausea and vomiting: A systematic review
title_short Foot reflexology on nausea and vomiting: A systematic review
title_sort foot reflexology on nausea and vomiting a systematic review
topic complementary medicine
foot reflexology
nausea and vomiting
reflexology
systematic review
url https://journals.lww.com/jinm/fulltext/2025/01000/foot_reflexology_on_nausea_and_vomiting__a.6.aspx
work_keys_str_mv AT soheilashamsikhani footreflexologyonnauseaandvomitingasystematicreview
AT mahsahosseini footreflexologyonnauseaandvomitingasystematicreview