Foot Reflexology to Decrease Cognitive Effects of ECT: Study from Iran

Out on Pubmed is this study from clinicians in Tabriz, Iran:

The Effect of Foot Reflexology on Amnesia in Patients Undergoing Electroconvulsive Therapy: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Alinejad Machiani S, Namdar Areshtanab H, Ebrahimi H, Sarbakhsh P, Noorazar SG, Goljarian S.J Caring Sci. 2021 Mar 1;10(1):15-21. doi: 10.34172/jcs.2021.004. eCollection 2021 Mar.PMID: 33816380

The abstract is copied below:
Introduction: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is the oldest procedure among the early biological treatments introduced in psychiatry. However, the most debated and treatment-limiting adverse effect of ECT is amnesia. Therefore, due to the restriction of the use of drugs to manage amnesia in patients undergoing ECT, the present study investigated the effect of reflexology on amnesia. Methods: In this randomized controlled trial, 68 patients who met the inclusion criteria were randomly allocated to intervention and control groups. The intervention group received foot reflexology with olive oil 20 minutes a day for 3 days, while the control group was given a gentle foot rub with olive oil 20 minutes a day for 3 days. The amnesia rate of all patients was measured by the Galveston Orientation and Amnesia Test (GOAT) 30 minutes after the end of ECT. The data were analyzed using SPSS software version 11.5 and t-test, chi-squared test, and repeated measures ANOVA. Results: The results showed that reflexology significantly increased recalling scores in the intervention group compared to the control group. Foot reflexology seems to be effective in managing amnesia in patients after ECT. Conclusion: Foot reflexology, as a relatively simple, inexpensive, and non-invasive technique with few side effects, can be used to manage amnesia in patients after ECT.

Keywords: Amnesia; Clinical trial; Electroconvulsive therapy; Reflexology.

The pdf is here.


Would that this were true! While many aspects of this study have significant methodological shortcomings, the idea and intention are commendable. Certainly,the integration of an holistic medicine procedure into ECT practice is tantalizing, mainly because it is almost risk-free. 
I have often remarked that the use of pharmacological agents to reduce the cognitive effects of ECT has been inadequately studied; this paper describes a non-pharmaceutical intervention with the same goal.
The benefits of olive oil-enhanced foot massage/reflexology for improved ECT tolerability remain to be proven in larger clinical trials, but this is a first step.

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