More than two thirds of Americans with chronic pain are now using complementary and alternative therapies. One complementary and alternative therapy, reflexology, has a long history and has been found useful on a case-by-case basis. This article provides a review of the literature on the use of reflexology as a therapy in pain management. Although reflexology is widely used, systematic research is needed to examine its effectiveness. To date, however, only a few studies have focused on reflexology's use in pain management. Because reflexology is a noninvasive, nonpharmacological therapy, nurses are in a position to do research on and make decisions about its clinical effectiveness.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
American Pain Foundation. (2002, Winter). Complementary and alternative medicine on the rise. Pain Community News, 1.
2.
Ashkenazi, R. (1993). Multidimensional reflexology. International Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 11(6), 8-12.
3.
Bonica, J. J., & Loeser, J. D. (2001). History of pain concepts and therapies. In J. D. Loeser (Ed.), Bonica's management of pain (3rd ed., pp. 3-16). Philadelphia: Lippincott, Williams, & Wilkins.
4.
Booth, B. (1994). Reflexology. Nursing Times, 90(1), 38-40.
5.
Byers, D. C. (1983). Better health with foot reflexology. St. Petersburg, FL: Ingham.
6.
Chapman, R. C. (2001). The psychophysiology of pain. In J. D. Loeser, S. H. Butler, C. R. Chapman, & D. C. Turk (Eds.), Bonica's management of pain (pp. 461-477). Philadelphia: Lippincott, Williams, & Wilkins.
7.
Copstead, L. C. (1995). Perspectives on pathophysiology. Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders.
8.
Crowther, D. (1991). Complementary therapy in practice. Nursing Standard, 5(23), 25-27.
9.
DeDomenico, G., & Wood, E. C. (1997). Beard's massage (4th ed.). Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders.
10.
Dobbs, B. Z. (1985). Alternative health approaches. Nursing Mirror, 160(9), 41-42.
11.
Dossey, B. M., Keegan, L., Guzzetta, C. E., & Kolkmeier, L. G. (1995). Holistic Nursing (2nd ed.). Frederick, MD: Aspen.
12.
Evans, S. L., Nokes, L. D. M., Weaver, P., Maheson, M., & Morrell, P. (1998). Effect of reflexology treatment on recovery after total knee replacement. Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery—British volume, 80-B(2S), 172.
13.
Frankel, B. S. M. (1997). The effect of reflexology on baroreceptor reflex sensitivity, blood pressure and sinus arrhythmia. Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 5, 80-84.
14.
Gillanders, A. (1995). The Joy of Reflexology. Canada: Little, Brown.
15.
Guyton, A. C., & Hall, J. E. (1996). The textbook of medical physiology. Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders.
16.
Hang, X. W. (1991). Central TV teaching program. China: People's Republic of China.
17.
Ingham, E. D. (1938). Stories the feet can tell. Rochester, NY: Author.
18.
Ingham, E. D. (1984). Stories the feet can tell/have told thru reflexology. St. Petersburg, FL: Ingham.
19.
Jonas, W. B., & Levin, J. S. (Eds.). (1999). Essentials of complementary and alternative medicine. Baltimore: Lippincott, Williams, & Wilkins.
20.
Kaikkonen, T. (2000). Mousearm and tension headache. In P. L. Frandsen & D. Krogsgaard (Eds.), Fourth European conference on reflexology (pp. 18-25). Denmark: The Danish Reflexologists Association.
21.
Kunz, K., & Kunz, B. (1999a). Hand reflexology workbook. Albuquerque, NM: Reflexology Research Project Press.
22.
Kunz, K., & Kunz, B. (1999b). Medical applications of reflexology: Findings in research about safety, efficacy, mechanism of action and cost-effectiveness of reflexology (Reflexology Research Project). Albuquerque, NM: Reflexology Research Project Press.
23.
Launso, L., Brendstrup, E., & Arnberg, S. (1999). An exploratory study of reflexological treatment for headache. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, 5(3), 57-65.
24.
Liang, W. (1996). An exploration of the clinical indicators of foot reflexology: A retrospective of its clinical application to 8,096 cases. In 1996 China reflexology symposium report (pp.140-143). Beijing: China Reflexology Association.
25.
Loeser, J. D., & Melzack, R. (1999). Pain: an overview. Lancet, 353, 1607-1609.
26.
Mackey, B. T. (2001). Massage therapy and reflexology awareness. Nursing Clinics of North America, 39(1), 159-169.
27.
Marquardt, H. (2000a). Reflexotherapy of the feet. Germany: Georg Thieme Verlag.
28.
Marquardt, H. (2000b). Reflexotherapy of the feet—Past, present and future. In P. L. Frandsen & D. Krogsgaard (Eds.), Fourth European conference on reflexology (pp.8-15). Denmark: The Danish Reflexologists Association.
29.
Mast, M. E. (1998). Office of alternative medicine supports research to evaluate effectiveness, safety, and cost of alternative and complementary treatments. ONS News, 13(6), 9.
30.
Maixner, W. (2000). Pain transmission and modulation—current concepts. Paper presented at the meeting of the 1st Annual Southeastern Academic Symposium, Durham, NC.
31.
Melzack, R. (1999). Pain and stress: A new perspective. In R. J. Gatchel & D. C. Turk (Eds.), Psychosocial factors in pain (pp. 89-106). New York: Guilford.
32.
Melzack, R., & Katz, J. (1994). Pain measurement in persons in pain. In P. D. Wall & J. Melzack (Eds.), Textbook of pain (pp. 337-351). Edinburgh, Scotland: Churchill Livingston.
33.
Melzack, R., & Wall, P. D. (1982). The challenge of pain. New York: Basic Books.
Oleson, T., & Flocco, W. (1993). Randomized controlled study of premenstrual symptoms treated with ear, hand, and foot reflexology. Obstetrics & Gynecology, 82(6), 906-911.
36.
Porth, C. M. (1994). Pathophysiology: Concepts of altered health states (4th ed.). Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott.
37.
Rosenthal, D. S. (2000). Complementary and alternative cancer methods. Atlanta, GA: American Cancer Society.
38.
Stephenson, N.L.N., Weinrich, S. P., & Tavakoli, A. (2000). The effects of foot reflexology on anxiety and pain in patients with breast and lung cancer. Oncology Nursing Forum, 27(1), 67-72.
39.
Tiran, D. (1996). The use of complementary therapies in midwifery practice: A focus on reflexology. Complementary Therapies in Nursing and Midwifery, 2(2), 32-37.
40.
Tovey, P. (2002). A single-blinded trial of reflexology for irritable bowel syndrome. British Journal of General Practice, 52(474), 19-23.
41.
Versteegh, T. (2000). Mouse arm and back problems. In P. L. Frandsen, & D. Krogsgaard (Eds.), Fourth European conference on reflexology (pp. 102-103). Denmark: The Danish Reflexologists Association.
42.
White, A. R., Williamson, J., Hart, A., & Ernst, E. (2000). A blinded investigation into the accuracy of reflexology charts. Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 8(3), 166-172.
