Effect of Foot Reflexology Protocol on Premenstrual Syndrome Symptoms in Nursing Students: a Pre–Post Pilot Study

BACKGROUND: Premenstrual syndrome is a highly prevalent cyclical disorder among women of childbearing age which interferes with daily activities, mood, and quality of life. PURPOSE: To evaluate the effects of a foot reflexology protocol on relieving premenstrual syndrome symptoms in nursing students. SETTING: Nursing School, São Paulo University, Brazil. PARTICIPANTS: A convenience sample of 17 nursing students, diagnosed with moderate-to-severe premenstrual syndrome as assessed by the Premenstrual Symptoms Screening Tool (PSST). RESEARCH DESIGN: A pre–post pilot intervention study. INTERVENTION: The intervention consisted of eight reflexology sessions lasting 30 minutes for eight weeks. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Evaluation of the participants by the PSST applied at the beginning and at the end of the study. RESULTS: The participants had an average age of 21.7 (±2.6) years, ranging from 19 to 28 years; all were single, and most were in the third year of the course (58.8%); 75.6% lived with their family; 82.4% do not use contraceptives; 64.7% reported regular menstrual flow with an average duration of 5.1 (±1.1) days, and an average menstrual cycle interval of 29.3 (±4.9) days. The intervention significantly reduced the premenstrual symptoms assessed by the PSST (p<.017) with a pre–post difference of 10.2 points in the overall score, and the items score decreased between 1.2 to 3.4 for difficulty concentrating, insomnia, hypersomnia, feeling overwhelmed, muscle/ joint pain, bloating, weight gain; and between 3.5 to 5.2 to anger/irritability, anxiety/ tension, tearful, depressed mood, decreased interest in daily activities, fatigue, overeating, and breast tenderness. There was a significant decrease regarding the functional impact of premenstrual symptoms domain in the overall score with a pre–post difference of 10.7, and between 1.7 and 3.0 for all of the items (p<.04), except for the item “your home responsibilities”. CONCLUSION: Foot reflexology has shown promising results in reducing premenstrual syndrome symptoms.