GINGER FOOT SOAK FOR NON SPECIFIC LOW BACK PAIN

Abstract

Background: Ginger (Zingiber officinale)  has  been  used  for medicinal purposes since antiquity for its carminative, anti-spasmodic, analgesics , antioxidant  and anti-inflammatory properties.

Aim: To  evaluate the effects  of  ginger  foot soak  among patients with non specific low back pain. 

Methods: A randomized pre and post interventional study was carried out among 60 patients who reported nonspecific  low back pain of  variable duration at the Primary Health Care setting,   Bangalore, Karnataka to evaluate the  effects of  Ginger versus plain water foot soak. Visual Analogue Pain Scale-100mm  and  Client Satisfaction opinionnaire were used to assess the  effectiveness of non-pharmacological substance (Ginger) on reduction of low back pain severity and experiences with treatment.    

Findings: There was clinically a significant reduction in the subjective reports of  back pain severity  at the end of the three weeks of treatment among the  ginger foot soak group   mean score 81.842 (SD=9.5) to 29.950 (SD=  8.4) as compared to plain water foot soak   group (mean score  81.947  (SD= 8.8) to 64.250 (SD= 17.5) with the diminished pain scores of 34.30 mm, “t”=7.912 at p<0.001, than those in the plain water foot soak group. The ginger water foot soak was associated with a  favorable   participants experiences in terms of more perceived feelings of inner peace, calmness/improvements in physical/mental relaxation, mood improvement,  self image, increased  perception of  regaining their physical energy/ greater confidence/ social functioning a fewer  perception of boredom/ dissatisfaction in life, work,  reduced   perception of negative thoughts. Majority (85.5%) of the participants in the experimental group expressed that they would recommend this ginger foot soak  to  friends  and  relatives  as compared to  (60.5%) in the plain water group.

Conclusion: Ginger water foot soak effectively reduces subjective reports of  low back pain and results in positive  subjective  experiences.