Effectiveness of Hand and Foot Massage on Pain among Women who have Undergone Abdominal Hysterectomy in Selected Hospitals at Mangalore

Surgery is the branch of medicine that deals with the physical manipulation of a bodily structure to diagnose, prevent or cure an ailment. Hysterectomy is a common surgery done to a large number of women who belong to late reproductive age group. The removal of the uterus is suggested for a number of diseases and conditions. The aim of this study is to assess the effectiveness of hand and foot massage on pain among women who have undergone abdominal hysterectomy in selected hospitals of Mangalore. A quasi experimental research approach was adopted. Interrupted time series design and Non probability purposive sampling is selected for the study. The data was collected by using demographic proforma, Short form Mc Gill Pain Questionnaire, Average Pain Intensity Scale and Current Pain Intensity Scale. ANOVA values showed that the calculated F value using SFMPQ in the experimental group was 20.73, average pain intensity scale was 18.92,current pain intensity scale was 17.70[F(3,76)= 2.68; p‹ 0.05]. Unpaired 't' test values showed that the calculated t value in both the experimental and control group by using SFMPQ in post test 1 was 2.503,post test 2 was 2.259 and post test 3 was 2.258; using average pain intensity scale in post test 1 was 2.608, post test 2 was 2.949 and post test 3 was 3.815; using current pain intensity scale in post test 1 was 2.177, post test 2 was 2.476 and post test 3 was 2.131[ t(39)= 1.960, p‹ 0.05 respectively. The study concluded that there was a significant reduction on pain among women who have undergone abdominal hysterectomy in experimental group than control group.