Effectiveness of a Herbal Compression Bag Stepping Technique versus a Feet Soaking in Herbal Water Technique on Feet Numbness Symptoms in Diabetes Patients at Phu Luang Hospital, Phu Luang District, Loei

Abstract

This study aimed to 1) compare feet numbness symptoms of diabetes patients before and after receiving a foot massage with an herbal compression bag stepping technique, 2) compare feet numbness symptoms of diabetes patients before and after receiving a foot massage with a feet soaking in herbal water technique, and 3) compare feet numbness symptoms of diabetes patients who receiving a foot massage with an herbal compression bag stepping technique and a feet soaking in herbal water technique.  Sixty sample subject volunteers were purposively recruited based on inclusion criteria including 1) has been diagnosed by a physician as a diabetes patient with a numbness symptom on a foot between 1 to 7 spots and 2) received a medical care at Thai Traditional Medicine Unit of Phu Luang Hospital, Phu Luang District in Loei. Sixty subjects were divided into two groups (30 subjects for each group). Three research instruments were 1) demographic data of selected diabetes patients, 2) patients’ present and past medical history, and 3) a diabetes patient’s numbness symptom recording form validated by three Thai traditional medicine, research and public health experts (reliability coefficient value = 0.93). Data analyses were included arithmetic means, percentages, standard deviation, the paired-samples t-test and independent t-test.

          Results revealed that there were statistically significances in the level of feet numbness symptoms of diabetes patients between after and before receiving a foot massage with both techniques (p-value = 0.05) and there was a statistically significance between the level of feet numbness symptoms of diabetes patients who receiving a foot massage with an herbal compression bag stepping technique and a feet soaking in herbal water technique (p-value = 0.05).