ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Med.
Sec. Family Medicine and Primary Care
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1607307
This article is part of the Research TopicThe Increasing Relevance of Traditional Medicine Systems for the Primary Health Care Sector and General Practice: Global Research Perspectives – Volume IIView all 17 articles
Hydrotherapy and acupressure for Restless Legs Syndrome: Results of a qualitative part of a randomized controlled exploratory study
Provisionally accepted
- Institute of Social Medicine, Epidemiology and Health Economics, Charité University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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Restless legs syndrome (RLS) has a negative impact on quality of life and remains challenging to treat. This study explored the subjective experiences of individuals using two self-managed, non-pharmacological interventions -hydrotherapy and acupressure -for RLS, focusing on their perceived benefits, challenges, and feasibility in everyday life.Within a three-armed randomized study we conducted qualitative interviews in both intervention groups. The semi-structured interviews were coded and analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Coding followed both an inductive approach, grounded in the data, and a deductive approach, guided by the study objectives. Data analysis was carried out using MAXQDA® software.A total of 12 telephone interviews (six per intervention group) were qualitatively analyzed.Participants had a mean age of 65 years (range 35-75). Six themes emerged: prior experiences, motivation, study document perception, treatment integration, perceived impact, and post-intervention use. Both groups reported symptom and sleep improvements. Increased mindfulness was more common in the acupressure group.Hydrotherapy participants noted sensory eiects but also discomfort and time barriers.Both interventions were seen as practical, with acupressure being perceived as easier to apply.Participants of both groups reported varying degrees of RLS symptom improvement. Highquality confirmatory RCTs are needed to investigate the eiectiveness of acupressure and hydrotherapy, with a focus on treatment practicability and the need for comprehensive, continuous guidance. Treatments in RLS should be location-independent to improve both participation and outcomes. Future research should further explore individualized adaptations and contextual factors influencing treatment experience and eiectiveness. Trial registration: This study has been registered in the German Clinical Trial Registry with trial ID DRKS00029960 on August 09, 2022.
Keywords: Restless Legs Syndrome, RLS, qualitative research, Sleep Disorders, complementary and alternative medicine
Received: 07 Apr 2025; Accepted: 10 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Siewert, Kubasch, Brinkhaus, Teut and Jansen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Julia Siewert, Institute of Social Medicine, Epidemiology and Health Economics, Charité University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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