Effect of Foot Bath on Pain, Sleep, and Comfort Levels After Abdominal Surgery

Effect of Foot Bath on Pain, Sleep, and Comfort Levels After Abdominal Surgery: A Randomized Controlled Trial

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of foot bath application on pain level, comfort and sleep quality in the postoperative period.

H1: Foot baths have a postoperative pain-reducing effect. H2: Foot baths have a postoperative comfort-enhancing effect. H3: Foot baths have a postoperative sleep-improving effect.

The research will be conducted with the participation of surgical patients who underwent abdominal surgery between December 2025 and December 2026 in the General Surgery Department of Tekirdag University Hospital.

Using the G*Power 3.1.9.4 program, the minimum number of people to be included in the sample was found to be 88 (44:44), assuming an effect size of 0.8 at a 95% confidence level and a 95% power ratio. To avoid the risk of sample loss, it was decided to include 48 patients in each group.

Inclusion Criteria:

• who are hospitalized in the General Surgery Clinic,
• are on day 0 of surgery,
• volunteer to participate in the study,
• have no neuropsychiatric diagnosis and are not taking antipsychotic medications,
• are over 18 years of age,
• accept random selection,
• and undergo abdominal surgery.
• For the experimental group, all patients with no infectious diseases (shingles, fungal infections, eczema, warts, calluses), local infections (abscesses, etc.), open lesions/wounds, scar tissue, edema, hematomas, thrombophlebitis, deep vein thrombosis, lymphangitis, coagulation disorders, varicose veins, osteoporosis, osteomyelitis, hepatitis, degenerative joint diseases, neuropathy due to diabetes, toe deformities, recent fractures, dislocations, or ruptures of muscle fibers, tendons, or ligaments will be included in the sample.

Exclusion Criteria:

• patients who underwent multiple simultaneous surgeries along with abdominal surgery,
• those with postoperative complications such as delirium,
• those who underwent reoperation,
• those with a pain score >7 because it could affect sleep levels,
• and those who received narcotic analgesics on postoperative day 0 due to pain will be excluded from the sample.