[Foot reflexology: an intervention study].

The study's goal was to test if foot reflexology (FR) affects well-being, voiding, bowel movements, pain and/or sleep in women who underwent an abdominal operation. 130 subjects were randomized into three groups. For five days they were exposed to 15 minutes of FR, foot/leg massage (FM) or talking respectively. Results show that women in the FR group were more able to void without problems, after the indwelling catheter had been removed, than did women in the comparison groups. There was also a tendency in the FR-group for the indwelling catheter to be removed earlier than in the other groups. In comparison, the FR-subjects slept worse than the others. FM showed significant results in subjective measurements of well-being, pain and sleep.