Effect of Foot Massage on Patients with Chemotherapy Induced Nausea and Vomiting: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Introduction: Cancer is a global problem and it is a leading cause of death worldwide. Nausea, vomiting and retching are one of the common side effects that are seen among the majority of the patients undergoing chemotherapy. Foot massage is a complementary therapy that reduces Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting (CINV) and improves the quality of life among cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. This study aim to measure the effectiveness of foot massage in reduction of nausea, vomiting & retching on patients undergoing chemotherapy treatment.

Methods: A randomized clinical trial study was used to assess the effect of foot massage on patients with Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting among patients undergoing highly emetogenic chemotherapy. Simple random sampling by the lottery method was used to select newly diagnosed cancer patients who underwent highly emetogenic chemotherapy (N= 82). Rhodes index of nausea, vomiting and retching questionnaire were used for data collection . SPSS 19, two-sample t-test, paired t-test and chi-square test were used for data analysis.

Result: Nausea, vomiting, and retching were significantly reduced in the experimental group compared to the control group after the intervention. There was a significant difference between pre-intervention and post-intervention scores within the group.

Conclusion: The findings of the study revealed that the foot massage therapy is effective in reducing chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting among patients undergone highly emetogenic chemotherapy. The study helped to conclude that foot massage can be considered effective intervention in chemotherapy patients.