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Articles
Objective: To determine whether reflexology
therapy - the application of manual pressure to reflex points
on the ears, hands, and feet that somatotopically correspond
to specific areaa of the body - can significantly reduce premenstrual
symptoms compared to placebo treatment.
Methods: Thirty-five women who complained
of previous distress with premenstrual syndrome (PMS) were
randomly assigned to be treated by ear, hand and foot reflexology
or to receive placebo reflexology. all subjects completed
a daily diary, which monitored 38 premenstrual symptoms on
a four-point scale. Somatic and psychological indicators of
premenstrual distress were recoreded each day for 2 months
before treatment, for 2 months during reflexology and for
2 months afterward. The reflexology sessions for both groups
were provided by a trained reflexology therapist once a week
for 8 weeks, and lasted 30 minutes each.
Results: Analysis of variance for repeated
measures demonstrated a significantly greater decrease in
premenstrual symptoms for the women given true reflexology
treatment than for the women in the placebo group.
Conclusion: These clinical findings support
the use of ear, hand and foot reflexology for the treatment
of PMS. (Obstet Gynecol 1993;82:906-11)
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