A Study to assess the effectiveness of Foot Massage on Pain among Patients after Abdominal Surgery in a Selected Hospital of Delhi

Massage is most widely used complementary therapy in nursing practice. Foot massage has many benefits as it provides tranquility and relaxation, improves circulation and rejuvenates the patients energy.

To assess the effectiveness of foot massage on pain among patients after abdominal surgery in a selected hospital of Delhi.

Quasi-experimental time series design with multiple institutions of treatment was used in this study. The sample for current study comprised of 60 patients admitted in surgical ward (1 and 24) of Safdarjung hospital of New Delhi. The experimental group was subjected to foot massage (effleurage and kneading) for 20 minutes a period of three days and control group received routine care. The pretest and posttest level of pain was assessed by Numerical pain rating scale in both the groups. Data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics and SPSS software.

Findings revealed significant statistical difference between mean pre-test and mean posttest pain score in experimental group after the administration of foot massage and in control group (p < 0.05). Also comparing the mean score of pain severity between both groups before the intervention showed that there were no meaningful difference (p > 0.05) but this difference was meaningful after intervention i.e. foot massage (p < 0.05).

The foot massage was more effective in decreasing pain in patients after abdominal surgery and can be used by nurses as an easy and cheap method for treating postoperative pain with no adverse effects in addition to the pharmacological method.