The influence of foot and back massage on blood pressure and sleep quality in women with essential hypertension: an RCT

A recent study was conducted with the aim of investigating the influence of foot and back massage on blood pressure and sleep quality in women with essential hypertension.

As we have known for many years in complementary medicine, non-pharmacologic methods like massage may be effective for balancing blood pressure and solving sleep problems. The researchers conducted a randomised controlled study (RCT) in accordance with CONSORT rules.

Women with essential hypertension were given a total of six, 30 minute sessions of foot and back massage, twice weekly over three weeks. The study included 90 patients of whom 60 were in intervention group (foot massage group, back massage group) and 30 in control group.

Data were collected through a personal data form (PDF) which included descriptive characteristics, and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI).

Six sessions of foot massage and back massage were detected to lead to a reduction in systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) values and the difference was statistically significant (p < 0.001). A strong statistical difference was found between mean pre-test / post-test scores of overall and sub-dimensional scores of PSQI in females in the massage (intervention) group (p < 0.001).

The researchers have concluded that foot and back massage are effective in reducing blood pressure and improving sleep quality.

Reference:

Arslan G, Ceyhan Ö, Mollaoglu M. The influence of foot and back massage on blood pressure and sleep quality in females with essential hypertension: a randomized controlled study. J Hum Hypertens. 2020 Jul 16. doi: 10.1038/s41371-020-0371-z. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 32678299.

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