[Lower extremity edema and pain of nurses and the effect of self leg massage].

PURPOSE

This study was done to compare edema and pain after completing a nurse's daily shift and to examine the effects of self leg massage which was usually used for reducing nurses' lower extremity edema and pain after their shift.

METHODS

The research design was a nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design. Study subjects wer 81 nurses who took a self leg massage program created by the researcher. Self leg massage was done 15 times during 3 weeks. Data were collected from September 21 to October 31, 2007. The level of lower extremity edema was measured by ankle and calf circumference by a tapeline in cm and the pain score was measured by using a subjective numbering rating scale. Data were analyzed with the SPSS 12.0 program using statistics of repeated measures ANOVA.

RESULTS

There was a statistically significant difference in pain according to the department. There was a statistically significant difference in lower extremity edema and pain in nurses after their shift and self leg massage.

CONCLUSION

Self leg massage was effective for relieving nurses' lower extremity edema and pain. Therefore, it is proposed that standardized self leg massage should be applied as a method for nurses' lower extremity edema and pain.