ClinicalTrials.gg
Not yet recruitingNCT07910136Updated Nov 2, 2026

Pre-Examination Reflexology for Anxiety and Pain During Pelvic Examination

An interventional study of Pre-Examination Reflexology in Anxiety, sponsored by Goni Sintov. Not yet recruiting at 1 site in Israel. Open to female participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-11-02.

Primary conditionPainRegistry: Anxiety DisordersReclassifiedWhy we changed it
Registry
Anxiety Disorders — the first condition term the registry derived for this study.
ClinicalTrials.gg
Pain
Why
  1. The registry often attaches Anxiety Disorders to studies about something else, and this study's title and listed conditions do not name it.
  2. The study's title name Pain.
Confidence
High: the new condition is named in the study's own title. Of 46 hand-checked studies reclassified this way, 72% were exactly right and 89% in the right disease family; the registry's first term was right for 4% (measured 2026-10-21). How we classify →
Wrong?
Tell us the study's main condition →

Sponsored by Goni Sintov · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

Updated Nov 2, 2026Newly registeredGo to Updates ↓
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
120
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
Female
01

Study summary

The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether a brief standardized reflexology session administered before the first pelvic examination reduces maternal state anxiety among term pregnant women admitted for induction of labor. The study is a prospective, randomized, controlled trial comparing a 15-minute reflexology session with a 15-minute rest period before pelvic examination. Anxiety, pain during the examination, patient satisfaction, blood pressure, and heart rate will be assessed.

Read the detailed description

Pelvic examination is commonly performed in women admitted for induction of labor and may be associated with anxiety, discomfort, and anticipatory distress. This prospective, randomized, controlled trial will evaluate whether a standardized 15-minute reflexology session administered before the first pelvic examination can reduce maternal state anxiety.

Eligible participants will be term pregnant women admitted for planned induction of labor who meet the study inclusion and exclusion criteria. Participants must be at least 18 years of age, have a singleton pregnancy at 37 weeks of gestation or more, and undergo their first pelvic examination during the current admission.

Following written informed consent and baseline assessment of anxiety and vital signs, participants will be randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to either the reflexology group or the control group. Participants in the intervention group will receive a standardized 15-minute reflexology session performed by a certified reflexologist, focusing on relaxation-related reflex points according to a predefined protocol. Participants in the control group will receive a 15-minute rest period in the same clinical setting. Standard care will otherwise remain identical between groups.

Following the intervention or rest period, participants will complete a second State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-State (STAI-S) questionnaire and Visual Analog Scale for Anxiety (VAS-Anxiety), and blood pressure and heart rate will be reassessed. The pelvic examination will then be performed. Following the examination, participants will report pain intensity using a 10-point Visual Analog Scale and complete a patient satisfaction questionnaire.

The primary outcome is the change in maternal state anxiety from baseline to the assessment immediately before the pelvic examination, measured by STAI-S and VAS-Anxiety. Secondary outcomes include pain intensity during the pelvic examination, patient satisfaction, and changes in blood pressure and heart rate.

02

Conditions studied

  • Anxiety

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Keywords

  • Reflexology
  • Pelvic Examination
  • Anxiety
  • Pregnancy
  • Induction of Labor
  • Pain
03

In context

Pain Reclassified

10,054 studies on the registry are indexed under Pain; 1,649 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 120 is above the median of 66 across 8,493 interventional studies indexed under Pain.

Browse Pain studies →

Lead sponsor

This is the only study on the registry with Goni Sintov as lead sponsor.

Compared within Pain, this study's primary condition as ClinicalTrials.gg classifies it; the registry's first condition term is Anxiety Disorders. The counts are of registry records indexed under each term, refreshed daily. How we classify →

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
Female
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • Singleton pregnancy.
  • Gestational age ≥37 weeks.
  • Admitted for planned induction of labor.
  • First pelvic examination during the current admission.
  • Able to provide written .

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Active labor with cervical dilation >3 cm and painful contractions.
  • Urgent indication for delivery.
  • Chronic use of anxiolytic or sedative medications.
  • Peripheral neuropathy or foot pathology.
  • Inability to complete the anxiety questionnaires.
  • Inability to read or understand Hebrew.
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(1)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

Informed consent

Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.

You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.

05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
120 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Reflexology Group

    Participants will receive a standardized 15-minute reflexology session performed by a certified reflexologist before the first pelvic examination. The treatment will focus on relaxation-related reflex points according to a predefined protocol.

    Behavioral: Pre-Examination Reflexology

  • No intervention
    Control Group

    Participants will receive a 15-minute rest period in the same clinical setting before the first pelvic examination. Standard care will otherwise remain identical between groups.

Interventions

  • BehavioralPre-Examination Reflexology

    A standardized 15-minute reflexology session performed by a certified reflexologist before the first pelvic examination. The treatment will focus on relaxation-related reflex points according to a predefined protocol.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Change in maternal state anxiety measured by STAI-S

    Change in maternal state anxiety from baseline to immediately before the pelvic examination, measured using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-State (STAI-S) questionnaire. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory - State (STAI-S) consists of 20 items, with total scores ranging from 20 to 80. Higher scores indicate greater state anxiety and therefore a worse outcome. Anxiety will be assessed at baseline and again after the 15-minute intervention or rest period.

    Time frame: Approximately 15 minutes

  2. Change in maternal state anxiety measured by VAS-Anxiety

    Change in maternal state anxiety from baseline to immediately before the pelvic examination, measured using the Visual Analog Scale for Anxiety (VAS-Anxiety). The Visual Analog Scale for Anxiety (VAS-Anxiety) ranges from 1 to 10, with higher scores indicating greater anxiety and therefore a worse outcome. Anxiety will be assessed at baseline and again after the 15-minute intervention or rest period.

    Time frame: Approximately 15 minutes

Secondary outcomes

  1. Pain intensity during the pelvic examination

    Pain intensity during the pelvic examination, measured immediately after the examination using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), with scores ranging from 1 to 10. Higher scores indicate greater pain intensity and therefore a worse outcome.

    Time frame: Immediately after the pelvic examination

  2. Patient satisfaction with the pelvic examination

    Patient satisfaction with the pelvic examination, assessed using a patient satisfaction questionnaire immediately after the examination.

    Time frame: Immediately after the pelvic examination

  3. Change in blood pressure

    Change in blood pressure from baseline to after the 15-minute intervention or rest period and before the pelvic examination. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure will be assessed at both time points.

    Time frame: Approximately 15 minutes

  4. Change in heart rate

    Change in heart rate from baseline to after the 15-minute intervention or rest period and before the pelvic examination.

    Time frame: Approximately 15 minutes

07

Study locations

1 site
08

References and documents

Publications

  • Yilar Erkek Z, Aktas S. The Effect of Foot Reflexology on the Anxiety Levels of Women in Labor. J Altern Complement Med. 2018 Apr;24(4):352-360. doi: 10.1089/acm.2017.0263. Epub 2018 Feb 23. PubMed 29474093 ↗
  • Yang JM, Li ZQ, Ye H, Wu YL, Long Y, Zhong YB, Luo Y, Wang MY. Effects of foot reflexology massage on pregnant women: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled studies. Sci Rep. 2024 Jan 10;14(1):1012. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-51107-y. PubMed 38200035 ↗
  • Ozturk R, Sevil U, Sargin A, Yucebilgin MS. The effects of reflexology on anxiety and pain in patients after abdominal hysterectomy: A randomised controlled trial. Complement Ther Med. 2018 Feb;36:107-112. doi: 10.1016/j.ctim.2017.12.005. Epub 2017 Dec 12. PubMed 29458915 ↗
  • Blackburn L, Hill C, Lindsey AL, Sinnott LT, Thompson K, Quick A. Effect of Foot Reflexology and Aromatherapy on Anxiety and Pain During Brachytherapy for Cervical Cancer. Oncol Nurs Forum. 2021 May 1;48(3):265-276. doi: 10.1188/21.ONF.265-276. PubMed 33855996 ↗
  • Teh JJ, Campos F, Koczoski A, Valencia T, Rimmer MP, Al Wattar BH. Effectiveness of Virtual Reality for Pain Relief in Procedures Related to Obstetrics and Gynaecology: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomised Controlled Trials. BJOG. 2026 Jun;133(7):1358-1372. doi: 10.1111/1471-0528.70194. Epub 2026 Feb 24. PubMed 41735173 ↗
  • Pain Management for In-Office Uterine and Cervical Procedures: ACOG Clinical Consensus No. 9. Obstet Gynecol. 2025 May 15;146(1):161-177. doi: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000005911. PubMed 40373312 ↗
  • Reddy DM, Wasserman SA. Patient anxiety during gynecologic examinations. Behavioral indicators. J Reprod Med. 1997 Oct;42(10):631-6. PubMed 9350018 ↗
  • US Preventive Services Task Force; Bibbins-Domingo K, Grossman DC, Curry SJ, Barry MJ, Davidson KW, Doubeni CA, Epling JW Jr, Garcia FA, Kemper AR, Krist AH, Kurth AE, Landefeld CS, Mangione CM, Phillips WR, Phipps MG, Silverstein M, Simon M, Siu AL, Tseng CW. Screening for Gynecologic Conditions With Pelvic Examination: US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement. JAMA. 2017 Mar 7;317(9):947-953. doi: 10.1001/jama.2017.0807. PubMed 28267862 ↗
  • Bloomfield HE, Olson A, Greer N, Cantor A, MacDonald R, Rutks I, Wilt TJ. Screening pelvic examinations in asymptomatic, average-risk adult women: an evidence report for a clinical practice guideline from the American College of Physicians. Ann Intern Med. 2014 Jul 1;161(1):46-53. doi: 10.7326/M13-2881. PubMed 24979449 ↗
  • Qaseem A, Humphrey LL, Harris R, Starkey M, Denberg TD; Clinical Guidelines Committee of the American College of Physicians. Screening pelvic examination in adult women: a clinical practice guideline from the American College of Physicians. Ann Intern Med. 2014 Jul 1;161(1):67-72. doi: 10.7326/M14-0701. PubMed 24979451 ↗

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

09

Updates

1 registry update since Sep 25, 2026
Registered
First appeared on the registry. No changes since
Nov 2, 2026
Show all 1 update
  1. Nov 2, 2026
    First appeared on the registry

From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT07910136
Lead sponsor
Goni Sintov
Responsible party
Goni Sintov (Principal Investigator, Wolfson Medical Center) — Sponsor-investigator
First posted
Nov 2, 2026
Start date
Oct 2026 (estimated)
Primary completion
Oct 2028 (estimated)
Completion
Oct 2028 (estimated)
Last update
Nov 2, 2026

Study contacts

Goni Sintov, MD
Contact
goni.sintov@gmail.com
+972508599495
Goni Sintov, MD
principal investigator · The Edith Wolfson Medical Center

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in Oct 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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