ABSTRACT

REFLEXOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRIC RESEARCH

Reflexology and Dementia.

Effects of reflexology in patients with dementia: evidence 
for a specific increase in Mini Mental State Examination

J. Manzanares Corominas M.D.

The present study evaluates the effects of reflexology in patients with dementia. Seventy-two adult patients with dementia, divided into 3 groups:

• Group 1. Control Group: 20 patients received general body massage.
• Group 2. Reflexology Group: 28 patients received foot reflexology stimulation to the reflex areas for the lung, heart, and intra and extra cranial flow.
• Group 3. Reflexology Group: 24 patients received foot reflexology stimulating the reflex areas for the pelvic organs.

    Dependent variables were MINI MENTAL STATE EXAMINATION (MMSE), Folstein 1975, Wolf 1979.  Changins pre and post treatment in three groups. The study was performed during three years (September 2008 to October 2011), and was performed 4 sessions, 2 sessions per week.

 CONCLUSIONS

    Statistically significant changes occur in group 2. In groups 1 and 3 no statistically significant changes occur. We conclude that reflexology stimulating the reflex areas of flow to the supra-aortic trunks, intracranial flow, intracranial structures, lungs and heart, get a stadistical improvement in MMSE score. We must emphasize that this response is not simply a result of skin-to-skin contact, nor the mere fact of massaging the foot. It is necessary to stimulate a specific area of the foot to obtainstatistically significant changes in the MMSE score.