The effect of reflexology applied on hemodialysis patients with fatigue, pain and cramp

The patients that receive hemodialysis treatment can live unfavorable symptoms like fatigue, cramp and pain together. These symptoms if are uncontrolled affect the patients all daily life activities and quality of life negatively. One of the supplementory and alternative treatment metod reflexology is determined to have positive effect on the management of this symptoms. The research aimed to confirm the efficiency of reflexology in hemodialysis patients, has done on 40 experimental and 40 control groups that obey the limitedness of research in the hemodialysis unit of Gaziantep Avukat Cengiz Gökçek State Hospital and 25 December State Hospital. The sociodemographic variables and a questionnaire form includes questions about disease that prepared by researcher, Piper Fatigue Scala, Visual Equivalance Scala that measure the pain severity was used to capture data. In the end of research it is determined that, after reflexology total fatigue point average falls down from 5,35 ± 1,5 to 3,34 ± 1,4 in experimental group but no changes in control group and the difference between experimental and control group is significant (p<0,05). Before reflexology pain point average was found 4,45 ± 1,1, cramp point average was 3,48 ± 2,35 and after reflexology it is determined; the pain point falls down to 1,68 ± 1,7 and cramp point to 1,13 ± 1,88, there is a significant difference between experimental and control groups (p<0,05) and reflexology is efficient to reduce the severity of fatigue, cramp and pain. Also it is determined that there is a positive relation between age and total fatigue point (p<0,05) and when the patient get older the fatigue increases. Fatigue, cramp and pain are more common in woman than man and the difference is significant statistically(p<0,05). According to research result, reflexology is one of the supplementary methods to reduce the symptoms like fatigue, pain and cramp and can be used with pharmacologic methods.