A Quasi-Experimental Investigation to Determine the Efficacy of Foot Reflexology as An Adjunctive Complementary Therapeutic Modality in Attenuating the Perceived Intensity of Acute Postoperative Pain Among Surgically Managed Patients in Selected Tert

Pain has a great impact on the patient's physical and mental condition, on quality of life, and on health care costs. Postoperative pain is an acute condition arising from tissue damage incurred during surgical interventions, such as skin incision, tissue separation, handling, and traction. Postoperative pain is associated with a multitude of adverse outcomes, including an increased risk of thromboembolic events, respiratory complications, anxiety, sleep disturbances, and prolonged hospitalisation. Foot reflexology is a non-invasive method that involves massaging reflex points on the hands and legs, which can help to relieve pain perception. Hence, the focus of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of Foot reflexology on pain among post-operative patients at selected hospitals in Tumkur. OBJECTIVES: 1. To assess the level of pain perception among postoperative patients in the experimental and control groups. 2. To compare the pretest and post- test level of pain among postoperative patients in the experimental and control groups. 3. To assess the effectiveness of foot reflexology on the level of pain perception among postoperative patients by comparing pretest and posttest pain scores in the experimental group. 4. To find the association of pre-test level of pain perception with selected demographic variables. MAJOR FINDINGS OF THE STUDY: The overall analysis of the level of pain among post-operative patients showed that, in the experimental group, a majority 70% of the subjects had severe pain, and 30 % of them had Moderate pain in the pretest. After Foot reflexology, 76.7% of the subjects had Mild pain, 20% had moderate pain, and only 3.3% of the subjects had severe pain in the post-test assessment. In the control group, a majority 80% of the subjects had severe pain and 20% of them had Moderate pain in the pretest where as in post-test, 50% of the subjects had severe pain, 36.7% had moderate pain, and only 13.3% of the subjects had mild pain in the post-test. In the experimental group, the pretest mean pain score was found to be 7.23±1.223 in the pretest. After the application of Foot reflexology, the post-test mean pain score was found to be 2.9±1.647. After the application of Foot reflexology, the post-test mean pain score was found to be 2.9±1.647. The pretest mean pain score was found to be 7.47±1.074 in the pretest, whereas the post-test mean pain score was found to be 5.97±1.712 among post-operative patients in the control group. INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSION: Findings of the study show that there was a significant difference in the pretest and post-test level of pain of post-operative patients in the experimental group, whereas little difference in the level of pain of post-operative patients in the control group. Also, there was a significant difference in the post-test level of pain of post-operative patients in the experimental and control groups. From this, it is concluded that foot reflexology is effective in reducing the level of pain among post-operative patients. There was a significant association between the level of pain of post-operative patients and selected demographic variables.