Table 2.
Characteristics of foot reflexology programs and outcomes assessment of studies included in meta-analysis.
| Authors, year | Frequency (sessions/week) | Session length (mins/session) | Duration (weeks/study) | Number of sessions/study total length/study | Safety (adverse events) | Lasting effects and duration | Adherence rate (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valizadeh et al., 2015 | 1 | 20 (total 20 min, 10 min for each foot) | 6 | 6 (2 hours) | Not reported | Not reported | 23/23 = 100% |
| Li et al., 2011 | 5 | 30 (total 30 min, 15 min for each foot) | 1 | 5 (2.5 hours) | Not reported | Not reported | 32/34 = 94% |
| Bakir et al., 2018 | 1 | 60 (total 60 min, 30 min for each foot) | 6 | 6 (6 hours) | Not reported | Not reported | 30/31 = 96% |
| Unal et al., 2016 | 2 | 30 (total 30 min, 15 min for each foot) | 4 | 8 (4 hours) | Not reported | Not reported | 35/35 = 100% |
| Zengin et al., 2018 | 2 | 30 (total 30 min, 15 min for each foot) | 8 | 16 (8 hours) | Not reported | Not reported | 84/88 = 95% |
| Rambod et al., 2019 | 5 | 30 (total 30 min, 15 min for each foot) | 1 | 5 (2.5 hours) | No side effect | Not reported | 36/36 = 100% |
| Malekshahi et al., 2018 | 3 | 10 (totally 10 min, 5 min for each foot) | 4 | 12 (2 hours) | Not reported | Not reported | 40/40 = 100% |
| Oshvandi et al., 2014 | 2 | 20 min (totally 20 min, 10 min for each foot) | 1 | 2 (0.66 hours) | Not reported | Not reported | 30/30 = 100% |
| Samarehfekri et al., 2020 | 3 | 30 min (totally 30 min, 15 min for each foot) | 1 | 3 (1.5 hours) | No side effect | 1 week after intervention | 25/26 = 96% |
| Toygar et al., 2020 | 3 | 30 min (totally 30 min, 15 min for each foot) | 1 | 3 (1.5 hours) | Not reported | Not reported | 33/33 = 100% |
| Bahrami et al., 2019 | 1 | 20 min (totally 20 min, 10 min for each foot) | 1 | 1 (0.33 hours) | No side effect | Not reported | 45/45 = 100% |
| Noh et al., 2019 | 3 | 30 min (totally 30 min, 15 min for each foot) | 6 | 18 (9 hours) | Not reported | Not reported | 32/33 = 96% |
| Mahdavipour et al., 2019 | 2 | 30 min (totally 30 min, 15 min for each foot) | 6 | 12 (6 hours) | Not reported | 2 months after intervention | 45/50 = 90% |
| Soheili et al., 2017 | 2 | 40 min (totally 40 min, 20 min for each foot) | 4 | 8 (5.33 hours) | Not reported | Not reported | 25/25 = 100% |
| Vardanjani et al., 2013 | 1 | 30 min | 1 | 1 (0.5 hours) | Not reported | Not reported | 50/50 = 100% |
| Bagheri-nesami et al., 2014 | 4 | 20 min (totally 20 min, 20 min for left foot) | 1 | 4 (1.33 hours) | Not reported | Not reported | 40/40 = 100% |
| Khaledifar et al., 2017 | 1 | 30 min (totally 30 min, 15 min for each foot) | 1 | 1 (0.5 hours) | Not reported | Not reported | 25/25 = 100% |
| Saatsaz et al., 2016 | 1 | - | 1 | 1 (—) | Not reported | 90 min after foot massage | 52/52 = 100% |
| Pasyar et al., 2018 | 1 | 10 (total 10 min, 5 min for each foot) | 1 | 1 (0.16 hours) | Not reported | 2 hours after foot massage | 33/33 = 100% |
| Koras et al., 2019 | 1 | 40 (total 40 min, 20 min for each foot) | 1 | 1 (0.66 hour) | Not reported | 90 min after foot massage | 85/85 = 100% |
| Eguchi et al., 2016 | 3 | 45 min | 4 | 12 (9 hours) | No side effect | Not reported | 27/27 = 100% |
| Ozturk et al., 2018 | 3 | 20 (total 20 min, 10 min for each foot) | 1 | 3 (1 hour) | Not reported | Not reported | 32/32 = 100% |
| Ramezanibadr et al., 2018 | 1 | 20 min | 1 | 1 (0.33 hour) | Not reported | 1 hour after foot reflexology | 50/50 = 100% |
| Shahsavari et al., 2017 | 1 | 30 min | 1 | 1 (0.5 hour) | Not reported | Not reported | 40/40 = 100% |
| Abbaszadeh et al., 2018 | 4 | 30 (total 30 min, 15 min for each foot) | 1 | 4 (2 hours) | Not reported | Not reported | 40/40 = 100% |
| Levy et al., 2020 | 1 | 30 (total 30 min) | 1 | 1 (0.5 hour) | No side effect | Not reported | 99/99 = 100% |