G-1085

Effects of foot massage with olive oil on the severity of restless legs syndrome in hemodialysis patients: A double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial

 Seyed Afshin Shorofi ¹ ©, Negar Shirzad ² ℗, Maryam Fattah-Amirdehi ², Paul Arbon ³, Jamshid Yazdani-Charati ⁴   

 
Abstract

Introduction: Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a major complication experienced by hemodialysis patients; therefore, it is essential to investigate effective treatments for relieving the symptoms of this neurological disorder. Non-pharmacological treatments, such as foot massage with or without herbal oils, may be helpful in alleviating certain symptoms of the disorder. This study was intended to determine the effect of foot massage with olive oil on the severity of RLS in hemodialysis patients. Materials and Methods: In this double-blind randomized clinical trial, 70 patients with RLS were selected using convenient sampling and were randomly assigned to either the experimental group or the control group. The experimental group received effleurage massage of the legs with olive oil, while the control group received effleurage massage of the legs with paraffin oil. The massage was performed for two weeks, three times a week (a total of six sessions), for ten minutes each time (five minutes per leg), from below the knee to the soles of both feet. The severity of RLS was measured before the commencement of the intervention (baseline), after the completion of the sixth session (T1), and one week after the sixth session (follow-up; T2), using the International Restless Legs Syndrome Scale. Results: No significant difference in the severity of RLS was observed between the experimental (14.4 ± 31.24) and control (64.5 ± 17.20) groups at baseline (p 0.46). The within-group analysis with repeated measures indicated an improvement in the severity of RLS from baseline to T1 and T2 in both the experimental and control groups (p 0.001). In addition, the two groups demonstrated a significant difference in the severity of RLS at T1 (p 0.001) and T2 (p 0.001). Foot massage with olive oil and paraffin oil was effective in alleviating the RLS symptoms, with a greater improvement observed in the experimental group (15.78 ± 3.24) compared to the control group (17.96 ± 4.23) (p = 0.013). The effect size of foot massage with olive oil (η² = 0.58) was larger than the effect size of foot massage with paraffin oil (η² = 0.15). There were no significant relationships between the severity of RLS and socio-demographic or clinical characteristics. No side effects related to olive oil massage or paraffin oil massage were reported either. Conclusion: The study results indicated that foot massage with both olive oil and paraffin oil was effective in reducing the severity of RLS; however, olive oil had a greater effect compared to paraffin oil in reducing the severity of the syndrome.

Keywords: complementary medicine, restless legs syndrome, massage, olive oil, hemodialysis