Analysis on the Application Effect of Abdominal Acupoint Massage on Feeding Intolerance in Premature Infants

Abstract

Objective. Breast milk is the best food for newly born infants because it is more digestible and can relieve infants’ gastrointestinal burdens. The purpose of this study was to investigate the application effect of abdominal acupoint massage on feeding intolerance in premature infants. Methods. A total of 50 premature infants with feeding intolerance admitted to our hospital from January 2018 to October 2019 were selected and randomly divided into the control group (n = 25) and the experimental group (n = 25). Among them, the premature infants in the control group received routine therapy, while based on the treatment in the control group, the premature infants in the experimental group were treated with abdominal acupoint massage. After that, the incidence of feeding intolerance, MNA nutritional status score, body mass, development state, length of hospital stay, and response rate were all compared between the two groups to analyze the application effect of abdominal acupoint massage on feeding intolerance in premature infants. Results. The incidence of feeding intolerance of the premature infants in the experimental group was significantly lower than that in the control group, with statistically significant differences ( P < 0.05 ); the MNA nutritional status scores of the premature infants in the experimental group were significantly higher than those in the control group, with statistically significant differences ( P < 0.05 ); the body mass and development state of the premature infants in the experimental group were significantly better than those in the control group, with statistically significant differences ( P < 0.05 ); the length of hospital stay of the premature infants in the experimental group was significantly shorter than that in the control group, with statistically significant differences ( P < 0.05 ); the response rate in the experimental group was significantly higher than that in the control group, with statistically significant differences ( P < 0.05 ). Conclusions. Abdominal acupoint massage therapy can significantly reduce the incidence of feeding intolerance, shorten the length of hospital stay, and improve nutritional status, development state, and response rate in premature infants, with obvious therapeutic effect, which is worthy of application and promotion in clinical practice.

Effect of Massage on treatment of preterm feeding intolerance: Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

“…The method of massage, frequency and application time were decided according to expert opinions found in previous studies (Diego et al, 2007 ; Heinonen et al, 2016 ; Kim & Bang, 2018 ; Tekgündüz et al, 2014 ; Zhu & Gong, 2021 ). And its biological plausibility and safety have been validated.…”

A Novel Visual Positioning Algorithm for Massage Acupoints Based on Image Registration

“…Health issues are always a major concern for most people and massage has becoming an increasingly popular therapy as it is natural and has no side effect [1][2][3]. Acupoint massage is an important part of traditional Chinese medicine therapy, and by stimulating certain acupoints, some curative effects, such as conditioning the human body, relieving fatigue and strain, or curing diseases, could be achieved [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]. Apparently, the accurate positioning of acupoints is related to the effect of massage therapy.…”