Study explores calming effects of reflexology in dementia

A growing body of research is exploring the role touch-based therapies may play in supporting people living with dementia – and a new review has highlighted some promising findings.

The review examined 33 studies involving therapies such as reflexology, massage, acupressure and therapeutic touch in people with dementia who lived in care homes, hospitals and community settings.

Most of the therapies studied involved short sessions lasting between five and 20 minutes, repeated several times a week over a number of weeks.

What did the review find?

While the authors stressed that more high-quality research is needed, they found some evidence that brief, repeated touch-based therapies may help create short-term calming effects for people living with dementia – particularly around agitation and restlessness.

The clearest findings related to short-term reductions in agitation immediately after sessions. Results around pain and broader behavioural symptoms were more mixed, and the researchers noted that long-term effects are still unclear.

Importantly, the therapies were generally found to be safe and well tolerated, with very few adverse effects reported.

Reflexology is already valued by many people for the opportunity it provides to slow down, relax and experience soothing therapeutic touch in a calm environment. In dementia care settings, this kind of quiet, one-to-one attention may itself be meaningful.

The future

The authors called for larger and better-designed studies to explore whether touch-based therapies – including reflexology – can provide meaningful longer-term benefits in dementia care.

For now, the findings offer cautious but encouraging support for the idea that gentle therapeutic touch may help some people living with dementia feel calmer and more settled, even if only for short periods of time.

#dementiacare #healthyageing #reducestress #reflexology #complementarytherapy