Evaluation Research on the Use of the Foot Bath for Pregnant Women Experiencing Low Back Pain

The purpose of this research is to evaluate the effect of the "foot bath" for pregnant women experiencing low back pain. This research was based on the Roy adaptation model, and the effect of the foot bath was assessed from four adaptive modes. The independent variable was the foot bath intervention for the experimental group. The foot bath was self-implemented under the researcher's guidance for two weeks. The experimental group (30 subjects aged 25-42 with a mean age of 30.9) and the control group (31 subjects aged 20-37 with a mean age of 29.6) were recruited through convenience sampling. The findings are as follows. The foot bath was noted to reduce the strength of pain and effected a smaller decline in the self-care function. After intervention, subjects in the experimental group showed significant reduction in the strength of pain (ID < 0.001). And, "a degree of reduction of the strength of pain" in the experimental group was greater than that in the control group (p <0.05). The self-care function in both groups was noted to decline with the age of gestation. Within the period of intervention, "a degree of decline of self-care function" in the experimental group was smaller than that of the control group (p <0.05). The above results indicated that the foot bath was effective for pregnant women experiencing low back pain.