Recommended Article2011-12-01

Effects of Acupressure on Vertebral Artery Blood Flow in Tension-type Headache Patients

Yun-Ho Lee, Ki-Mae Eom, Hyo-Seok Seo, Young-Dae Yun

2011; 4(4): 267-267 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jams.2011.10.005

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(4) Korean Journal of Acupuncture, Vol 28, No. 2, pp. 49-58, 2011 Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of apply acupressure to acupuncture points (study group) and interferential current therapy (ICT) to the cervical region (control group) on the cerebral blood flow in 20 tension-type headache patients and on the reduction of their headaches. For this purpose, clinical research was conducted for three weeks on these two groups, each containing 10 patients. Methods: We stimulated seven acupuncture points for headache with acupressure (for three weeks) and applied ICT to the cervical region. Also, we measured the VAS (Visual Analogue Scale) and the blood flow in the vertebral arteries by using TCD (transcranial doppler ultrasonography). Results: (1) When the left and the right vertebral arteries of the study group were compared, significant differences were found after the 1st treatment (p

Review Article2012-04-01

Alternative Medicine in Periodontal Therapy—A Review

Brijesh Mangal^*, Ayushi Sugandhi, Kanteshwari I. Kumathalli, Raja Sridhar

2012; 5(2): 51-56 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jams.2012.01.001

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Periodontal diseases continue to be most commonly occurring oral diseases in modern times. Many therapeutic modalities have been tried and tested to relieve these problems. The conventional therapy—scaling and root planing (SRP)—stands out to be the most used mode of treatment, and other treatments remain applicable as adjuncts to SRP, including acupuncture, acupressure, and aromatherapy. The present article discusses the applications of the abovementioned therapeutic modes and their relevance in current scenarios. Alternative medicine may be preferred as an adjunct to conventional periodontal therapy to relieve pain, bad breath, gingival inflammation, mouth ulcers, and mouth sores.

Clinical case report2016-12-01

Acupuncture in the Management of Intraoperative Nausea and Vomiting

Francisco Gouveia^*, Carmen Oliveira, Nuno Losa

2016; 9(6): 325-329 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jams.2016.09.005

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Intraoperative and postoperative nausea and vomiting (IONV and PONV, respectively) are common complications of anesthesia with significant associated morbidity. Strategies for their prevention and treatment have been organized in pharmacological and nonpharmacological measures. Acupuncture at PC6 has demonstrated efficacy in randomized trials, although evidence regarding its efficacy in treating IONV and PONV has not yet been fully established. We present the case of a patient who underwent peripheral vascular surgery on a limb under a subarachnoid block and who developed IONV refractory to conventional pharmacological therapy. Acupuncture at the PC6 and the TF4 points proved to be an effective alternative treatment to conventional pharmacological treatment and resulted in almost immediate cessation of IONV.

Research article2017-04-01

Effectiveness of Acupressure at the Zusanli (ST-36) Acupoint as a Comfortable Treatment for Diabetes Mellitus: A Pilot Study in Indonesia

Fitrullah^13*, Addison Rousdy¹²

2017; 10(2): 96-103 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jams.2016.12.003

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Diabetes mellitus is a dangerous disease worldwide. Indonesia has 10 million diabetic and 17.9 million prediabetic citizens. Unfortunately, less than half of these diabetic individuals are aware of their conditions and less than 1% of those receiving medical treatment achieve their healing targets. Because acupressure is believed to be an effective treatment without the use of drugs, in this study we investigated acupressure as a comfortable and effective way of treating patients with diabetes mellitus. This pilot study involved 30 participants who were split into two groups: 15 each in the experimental and the control groups. The experimental group underwent acupressure at the Zusanli (ST-36) acupoint for 30 minutes per visit for 11 weeks, whereas the control group continued their regular treatment; participants in both groups had their blood glucose randomly checked weekly. Data were analyzed using the Generalized Estimating Equation model; the result showed that the two groups were significantly different (p = 0.331 > α = 0.05; mean difference = 99.14; Bonferroni sig. p = 0.000 < α = 0.05) and that acupressure at ST-36 was effective in reducing blood sugar. This research showed that acupressure was an effective method for reducing blood glucose and was helpful for reducing complications due to diabetes.

Research article2017-06-01

Comparison of Effects of Local Anesthesia and Two-Point Acupressure on the Severity of Venipuncture Pain Among Hospitalized 6–12-Year-Old Children

Parisa Shahmohammadi Pour¹, Golnaz Foroogh Ameri², Majid Kazemi^3*, Yones Jahani⁴

2017; 10(3): 187-192 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jams.2017.04.001

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The aim of the present study was to compare the effects of topical anesthesia and acupressure at the Yintang (Extra 1) and the Laogong (P-8) points on the severity of venipuncture pain among hospitalized 6–12-year-old children. A sample (n = 120) of 6–12-year-old hospitalized children was recruited from two teaching hospitals located in Rafsanjan, Iran. The children were allocated to the topical anesthesia, acupressure, and control groups. For children in the topical anesthesia and the acupressure groups, eutectic mixture of local anesthetic (EMLA) cream and two-point acupressure were used, respectively, prior to performing venipuncture, whereas children in the control group only received routine prevenipuncture care. The severity of venipuncture pain was evaluated 5 minutes after performing venipuncture by using the Face, Leg, Activity, Cry, and Consolability behavioral pain assessment scale. The findings revealed that pain severity in both experimental groups was significantly lower than that in the control group, whereas there was no significant difference between the experimental groups regarding pain severity. Although acupressure was as effective as topical anesthesia cream in alleviating children's venipuncture pain, nurses are recommending to use acupressure instead of pharmacological pain management agents because of its greater safety, cost-effectiveness, and applicability.

Research Article2018-10-01

Comparison of the Prophylactic Effect Between Acupuncture and Acupressure on Menstrual Migraine: Results of a Pilot Study

Xianmin Yu^*, Alan Salmoni

2018; 11(5): 303-314 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jams.2018.04.003

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ObjectivesTo compare between acupuncture and acupressure for preventing menstrual migraine (MM).MethodsMM is one kind of migraine associated with menses in female. It is often associated with increased menstrual distress and disability, leading to decreased daily activity and quality of life. A randomized and controlled pilot study was conducted with three groups: verum acupuncture (VA) group, acupressure (AP) group, and control acupuncture (CA) group. The study lasted for 7 cycle-months, with a 1 cycle-month baseline observation (T1), a 3 cycle-month intervention (3 times per cycle-month) (T2–T4), and a 3 cycle-month follow-up (T5–T7). Outcome measures were number of migraine days, average and peak pain, total duration period of MM, and percentage of patients with ≥50% reduction in the number of MM days.ResultsA total of 18 participants were included in the analysis (VA, n = 7; AP, n = 6; CA, n = 5). Both VA and AP were significantly more effective than CA for reducing MM days during the intervention period. Both VA and AP tended to be more effective than CA for reducing peak pain during the intervention period. No significant differences for the outcomes were observed among VA, AP, and CA during the follow-up period. No serious adverse events were reported.DiscussionResults of the pilot study suggest that both VA and AP could be considered as alternative and safe prophylactic interventions for MM. Register ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02592681.

Research Article2018-12-01

Effect of Acupressure on Preoperative Cesarean Section Anxiety

Foziyeh Abadi¹, Faezeh Abadi^1*, Zhila Fereidouni², Mehdi Amirkhani³, Shahnaz Karimi⁴, Majid Najafi Kalyani⁵

2018; 11(6): 361-366 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jams.2018.07.001

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Anxiety is a common preoperative problem in cesarean section candidates. Nonpharmacologic anxiety control has been demonstrated to be more suitable in pregnant women. The current study was a randomized, single-blind clinical trial which evaluated the effect of acupressure on preoperative C-section anxiety. In this study, 60 patients facing surgery were randomly divided into two groups of 30 patients each. Those patients in the intervention group received simultaneous acupressure at the Yintang and HE-7 acupoints for 5 minutes before surgery, and patients in the control group received intervention at a sham acupoint. The anxiety level of patients was preoperatively assessed twice using the Spielberger's State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. The mean anxiety scores of the two groups were shown to be insignificantly different before the intervention (p = 0.859), whereas a significant difference between the mean anxiety scores of the two groups was observed after the intervention (p = 0.001), suggesting that acupressure reduced the anxiety of patients before surgery.

Research Article2019-04-01

The Effect of Manual Acupressure (Point BL32) on Pain Associated with Intramuscular Injections of Magnesium Sulfate

Seyed S. Najafi¹, Setareh Nazaribin², Marzieh Momennasab^1*, Amin Kordi Yoosefinejad³

2019; 12(2): 67-72 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jams.2018.07.002

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The aim of this study was determining the effect of acupressure on the severity of pain associated with intramuscular injections of magnesium sulfate administered by the Z-track technique in patients with eclampsia and preeclampsia. Forty-eight patients participated in this single-group clinical trial, which was conducted in three stages. For each patient, three intramuscular injections were administered by the Z-track technique. The first injection was administered by the conventional method. The second injection at a sham control point and the third injection using acupressure (BL32) were administered. Pain severity was measured on a visual analogue scale. The mean pain intensity was 7.22 in the first, 4.75 in the second and 1.94 in the third injections (p < 0.001). The results of the study showed that acupressure at the BL32 point before intramuscular injection of magnesium sulfate significantly reduced the injection-related pain.

Research Paper2019-08-01

Effects of Acupressure on Fatigue in Patients with Cancer Who Underwent Chemotherapy

Atefeh Ghanbari Khanghah¹, Moloud Sharifi Rizi^2*, Bahram Naderi Nabi³, Masoumeh Adib⁴, Ehsan Kazem Nejad Leili⁵

2019; 12(4): 103-110 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jams.2019.07.003

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Fatigue is the commonest symptom in cancer patients; despite high levels of clinically significant persistent cancer-related fatigue, few treatments are currently available. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of acupressure on fatigue in patients with cancer who underwent chemotherapy. The study was designed as a randomized and controlled trial. Ninety samples were selected using the convenience sampling method, and random block sampling was used for allocation of groups (30 for each group). The three groups were similar by age and gender. The experimental group underwent acupressure at the Zusanli (ST-36), Hegu (LI-4), and Sanyingjiao (SP-6), whereas sham pressure was used in the placebo group and no intervention was applied in the control group; the level of fatigue of participants in three groups was calculated in three phases, before, during, and after chemotherapy. Data were analyzed using SPSS, version 22. The results showed that the mean of visual analog score of fatigue is significantly different in three groups at the end of chemotherapy (p = 0.021). The mean visual analog score of fatigue in the acupressure group was meaningfully lower than that in the control group after chemotherapy (p = 0.028). Results of this investigation showed that acupressure has short-term effectiveness on the cancer-related fatigue of patients undergoing chemotherapy.

Research ArticlePublished online June 1, 2020

The effect of acupressure on the severity of pruritus and laboratory parameters in patients undergoing hemodialysis: A randomized clinical trail

Fatemeh Karjalian^a, Marzieh Momennasab^b*, Amin Kordi Yoosefinejad^c, Shahrokh Ezzatzadegan Jahromi^d

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jams.2020.05.002

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ObjectivesThe aim of this study is to determine the effect of acupressure on the severity of pruritus and some laboratory parameters in patients undergoing hemodialysis.Materials and MethodsThe present clinical trial was conducted on 90 hemodialysis patients. Pressure was applied on SP6, SP10, ST36, and LI11 points in the intervention group and on ineffective points for the sham control group. The severity of itching was measured using the Numeric Rating Scale.ResultsThere was a significant reduction in the severity of pruritus over the course of the study in the intervention and sham control groups (P=0.001). Also significant differences were observed at the end of the intervention in terms of serum phosphorus (P=0.045) and parathyroid hormone (P=0.004) levels between groups.ConclusionAcupressure can improve the severity of pruritus dramatically in hemodialysis patients, but has no effect on laboratory parameters, except for serum phosphorus and parathyroid hormone levels.