Changes of cerebral functional connectivity induced by foot reflexology in a RCT

Abstract

Abstract Non-Pharmacological Interventions (NPIs) are increasingly being introduced into healthcare, but their mechanisms are unclear. In this study, 30 healthy participants received foot reflexology (FR) and sham massage, and went through a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) to evaluate NPIs effect on brain. Rs-fMRI revealed an effect of both NPIs on functional connectivity with changes occurring in the default-mode network, the sensorimotor network and a Neural Network Correlates of Pain (NNCP—a newly discovered network showing great robustness). Even if no differences were found between FR and SM, this study allowed to report brain biomarkers of well-being as well as the safety of NPIs. In further research, it could be relevant to study it in patients to look for a true reflexology induced-effect dependent of patient reported outcomes. Overall, these findings enrich the understanding of the neural correlates of well-being experienced with NPIs and provided insight into the basis of the mechanisms of NPIs.