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Reflexology is not an effective treatment for any medical condition

Discussion in 'General Issues and Discussion Forum' started by LuckyLisfranc, Sep 7, 2009.

  1. Craig Payne

    Craig Payne Moderator

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    Ben - there is nothing wrong with getting equal numbers in each group when doing a randomized study.

    The problem is that is you look at the thread specifically and at RCT's on alternative therapies in general, they seem to get equal numbers in each group extremely often!

    If you look at, for eg, drug trials or RCT's in the high impact factor journals, it is very uncommon to see equal numbers in each group. Of the top of my head, I do not think I can even recall a foot orthotic RCT that had equal numbers in each group.

    Due to the high number of reflexology studies that do end up with equal numbers in each group it has to be a red flag that they were not really randomized studies or they did something dodgy during the randomization process.
     
  2. W J Liggins

    W J Liggins Well-Known Member

    Put very simply, if you take a population of, say, 60 and write the figures 1 to 60 on separate pieces of paper, place those in a bag and then remove 3 handfuls (ie. randomly) and then allocate those to 3 groups, it is possible that you might get 20 in each group but highly unlikely. If, on the other hand, you wished to compare 2 like groups in a 't' test then you would wish to have equal numbers. However, as Craig has pointed out, throughout this thread the reflexology studies consistently arrive at equal numbers although there is no pretense at comparing like with like. The experimental design must therefore be questioned, as must the validity of the results.

    Bill Liggins
     
  3. Ben Lovett

    Ben Lovett Active Member

    So we assume they're lazy and randomising through order of arrival rather than diligent and using block randomisation (http://www.randomization.com/ ) or other technique designed to generate equal groups (and/or balance for covariates).

    I'm sure your right.

    Ben
     
  4. Craig Payne

    Craig Payne Moderator

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    They aren't that sophisticatd to use those methods.

    If you look at the full papers of them, so many of them the methods are so shoddy and poorly done, I don't even think some of them know what the word 'randomization' means! Some of them, English is not their first language and I think they use the word "randomised" for "allocated"

    Invariably, the methods just say 'randomised' with no more detail on exactly what they did. ... hence a possible red flag when so many get exact same numbers in each group.
     
  5. NewsBot

    NewsBot The Admin that posts the news.

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    EFFECT OF FOOT REFLEXOLOGY ON THE SEVERITY OF CONSTIPATION OF ELDERLY WOMEN RESIDING IN KAHRIZAK GERIATRIC NURSING HOME
    S Esmaeil pour, M Jabbarzad zaki *, MK Naeeni , H Fakhrzade
    مجله. 2016; 13 (10) :825-8
     
  6. Craig Payne

    Craig Payne Moderator

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    Yep; another one!
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 13, 2016
  7. NewsBot

    NewsBot The Admin that posts the news.

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    The Effect of Reflexology Applied to Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease on Dyspnea and Fatigue
    Hatice Polat PhD andSeher Erg?ney PhD
    Rehabilitation Nursing; Early View
     
  8. Craig Payne

    Craig Payne Moderator

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    More junk science on reflexology !!!
    .... not randomised
    .... did a within groups analysis rather than a between groups analysis

    next
     
  9. NewsBot

    NewsBot The Admin that posts the news.

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    The Effects of Aroma Foot Massage on Blood Pressure and Anxiety in Japanese Community-Dwelling Men and Women: A Crossover Randomized Controlled Trial.
    Eguchi E et asl
    PLoS One. 2016 Mar 24;11(3):e0151712. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0151712.
     
  10. NewsBot

    NewsBot The Admin that posts the news.

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    The effect of foot reflexology applied to women aged between 40 and 60 on vasomotor complaints and quality of life
    Ebru Gozuyesil at al
    Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice; Volume 24, August 2016, Pages 78?85
     
  11. Craig Payne

    Craig Payne Moderator

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    Who can spot the really big red flag in that sentence????

    They did a within groups analysis and not a between groups analysis that they should have done.

    next.
     
  12. NewsBot

    NewsBot The Admin that posts the news.

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    The effect of foot reflexology and back massage on hemodialysis patients' fatigue and sleep quality
    Kevser Sevgi Unal et al
    Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice; 16 June 2016
     
  13. Craig Payne

    Craig Payne Moderator

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  14. LeonW

    LeonW Active Member

    Every practicioner has used massage at some time.

    It is an integral part of treatment for many.

    RCTs or not. It works for ppl.

    Whether you call it reflexology or massage.
     
  15. W J Liggins

    W J Liggins Well-Known Member

    No. As Craig has consistently pointed out it is the 'reflexologists' who claim that there is a fundamental difference. No poster has stated that a good massage will not make many patients feel better but that reflexology is at best placebo, at worst a dangerous con. An RCT is the difference between science and mumbo-jumbo.

    Bill Liggins
     
  16. NewsBot

    NewsBot The Admin that posts the news.

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    Effect of Foot Reflexology and Olive Oil Foot Massageon Asthma Control.
    Dashti S et al
    Glob J Health Sci. 2016 Apr 29;8(12):56086
     
  17. Craig Payne

    Craig Payne Moderator

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    WTF? here is that same red flag that has come up so many times in this thread. Next.
     
  18. NewsBot

    NewsBot The Admin that posts the news.

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    Influence of Study Design on Outcomes Following Reflexology Massage: An Integrative and Critical Review of Interventional Studies
    McVicar Andrew, Greenwood Christina, Ellis Carol, and LeForis Chantelle.
    The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. July 2016, ahead of print.
     
  19. NewsBot

    NewsBot The Admin that posts the news.

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    Postoperative Foot Massage for Patients after Caesarean Delivery.
    Xue M et al
    Z Geburtshilfe Neonatol. 2016 Aug;220(4):173-178
     
  20. NewsBot

    NewsBot The Admin that posts the news.

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    THE EFFECTIVENESS OF REFLEXOLOGY MASSAGE IN LOWERING THE BLOOD PRESSURE IN ELDERLY WITH HYPERTENSION
    Wahyu Wibisono
    JOURNAL OF NERS AND MIDWIFERY
     
  21. Craig Payne

    Craig Payne Moderator

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    1. No control group
    2. A damn good foot massage would relax anyone and lower bld pressure

    Next.
     
  22. NewsBot

    NewsBot The Admin that posts the news.

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    The effect of reflexology on quality of life in Iranian patients with breast cancer.
    Shadan Pedramrazi
    Journal of Clinical Oncology, 2016 Palliative Care in Oncology Symposium (September 9-10, 2016).
    Vol 34, No 26_suppl (September 10 Supplement), 2016: 90

     
  23. NewsBot

    NewsBot The Admin that posts the news.

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    Effect of Foot Reflexology on Post Operative Pain and Sleep among Post Caesarean Mothers
    Deepshikha, Vibha
    International Journal of Nursing Education and Research; Year : 2016, Volume : 4, Issue : 4
     
  24. Craig Payne

    Craig Payne Moderator

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  25. NewsBot

    NewsBot The Admin that posts the news.

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    The effects of foot reflexology on the level of depression in patients under hemodialysis
    Z Amini, M Roshanravan , H.R Bahrami, A Sanagoo, L Jouybari, A Kamali
    Journal of Nursing Education; Feb 2017
     
  26. Craig Payne

    Craig Payne Moderator

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    Within group analysis rather than between groups. fail. next.
     
  27. NewsBot

    NewsBot The Admin that posts the news.

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    Effects of foot massage applied 2 different methods on symptom control in colorectal cancer patients: Randomized control trial.
    Uysal N et al
    Int J Nurs Pract. 2017 Feb 7. doi: 10.1111/ijn.12532
     
  28. Craig Payne

    Craig Payne Moderator

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    oh ffs! Actually this was a well designed and conducted study ... but the authors obviously never heard of the issue of multiple comparisons when doing the analysis. Fail. Next.
     
  29. NewsBot

    NewsBot The Admin that posts the news.

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    Evaluation of the effects of foot reflexology massage on vital signs and
    chemotherapy-induced anxiety in children with leukemia

    Akram Ghazavi et al
    Medical - Surgical Nursing Journal 2016; 4(4): 41-48.
     
  30. NewsBot

    NewsBot The Admin that posts the news.

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    Impact of Foot Reflexology Massage on the Patients’ Physiological Indicators without Trauma with Loss of Consciousness in the Intensive Care Unit
    Sheikh Sara et al
    Indian Journal of Public Health Research & Development Year : 2017, Volume : 8, Issue : 2
     
  31. Craig Payne

    Craig Payne Moderator

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    I have commented on this so many times in this thread ... yet again, studies on reflexology randomly end up with the exact same number in each group!
     
  32. William Fowler

    William Fowler Active Member

    How do they get published?
     
  33. NewsBot

    NewsBot The Admin that posts the news.

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    Effectiveness of Foot Reflexology on Lactation Among Postnatal Mothers in Selected Hospitals at Kanyakumari District, Tamilnadu
    Sophia Arzta et al
    TNNMC Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecological Nursing; Year : 2017, Volume : 5, Issue : 1
     
  34. Craig Payne

    Craig Payne Moderator

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  35. NewsBot

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    The blood pressure response to foot reflexology adjunct to transcendental meditation training on postmenopausal hypertension
    Ghada Ebrahim El Refaye and Hany Farid Eid Morsy Elsisi
    Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation
     
  36. Craig Payne

    Craig Payne Moderator

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    oh dear:
    "Paired t test were used to compare variables within the same group" .... next
     
  37. NewsBot

    NewsBot The Admin that posts the news.

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    Foot massage: effective or useless?
    Shan Jiang
    Nurs Palliat Care, 2017
     
  38. NewsBot

    NewsBot The Admin that posts the news.

    Articles:
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    The effect of reflexology on the quality of life with breast cancer patients
    Afitap Özdelikara , Mehtap Tan
    Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice; 6 September 2017
     
  39. Craig Payne

    Craig Payne Moderator

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  40. NewsBot

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    Reflexology: A randomised controlled trial investigating the effects on beta-endorphin, cortisol and pregnancy related stress ☆
    Julie EM. McCullough et al
    Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice; 3 February 2018
    •Further research into antenatal reflexology is required to enable women and health care professionals to make informed, evidence based decisions.
     
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