Effect of Acupressure on Fatigue in Women With Multiple Sclerosis

Abstract

Introduction:Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most common cause of progressive neurological disability. The prevalence of MS is much more common in women than men. The women are exposed to a variety of symptoms including fatigue. Acupressure is a noninvasive procedure that can be used to control symptoms including fatigue. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of acupressure on fatigue in women with multiple sclerosis.Methods:A randomized clinical trial was conducted on 100 women with MS at Tehran MS Association. The subjects were equally allocated to experimental group and a placebo group (50 women per group) by blocking randomization method. The experimental group were received acupressure, at the true points (ST36, SP6, LI4) and the placebo group, were received touching at the same points. Fatigue was measured by a Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) in the groups at immediately prior to, two and four weeks after the beginning of the intervention. The data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics by SPSS version 17.Results:The findings indicated no differences in demographic characteristics and the severity of fatigue at the baseline in two groups (p=0.54). But there were significant reductions of the mean score of fatigue in the experimental group compared to the placebo group immediately, two and four weeks after the intervention respectively (p=0.03, p≤0/001, p=0.04).Conclusion:According to the findings, the study provided an alternative method for health care providers including nurses to train acupressure to the clients with MS to managing their fatigue.

Complementary and alternative treatments of multiple sclerosis: a review of the evidence from 2001 to 2016

“…An unblinded RCT58 found that acupressure, which stimulates acupoints but does not use needles, significantly reduced fatigue compared with placebo. The authors found that acupressure reduced fatigue score (Fatigue Severity Scale) by 26% at a 4-week follow-up.…”

The effects of acupressure on pain severity in female nurses with chronic low back pain

“…In fact, pain is one of the most important priorities that could be relieved with both pharmacological and nonpharmacological methods,[ 8 ] hence, using of nonpharmacologic interventions will be an alternative due to the abundant side effects of the available drugs such as opioids. [ 9 10 ]…”

Study Gaps Relevant to Use of Complementary Medicine in Patients With Leukemia: A Review Study

“…In addition, the sample in their study only included patients with ALL; therefore, other types of acute and chronic leukemia could be areas of research for future studies. Moreover, this study only considered one of the problems of leukemia patients, and the effect of acupressure should be studied on the other problems of these patients, such as pain, fatigue, and sleep disorders (20).…”

“…A study was conducted by Bastani et al (20) (2011) in Iran in order to determine the effects of acupressure on the nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Therefore, since this method is safer than acupuncture, more studies should be conducted on the beneficial effects and safety of this method in leukemia patients.…”