Use of Seva Stress Release Acupressure to Reduce Pain, Stress, and Fatigue in Patients Hospitalized for Cancer Treatment

Abstract

Patients undergoing treatment for cancer often experience stress, fatigue, and pain during their treatment. Medical management of these symptoms can cause additional adverse effects, but it is possible that noninvasive complementary therapies may be able to reduce these symptoms without unwanted adverse effects. The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility and impact of the Seva Stress Release acupressure protocol on stress, fatigue, pain, and vital signs of patients hospitalized for cancer treatment. Thirty patients receiving cancer treatment and experiencing stress, fatigue, and pain were recruited for the study. After obtaining informed consent, baseline data (survey and vital signs) were obtained, followed by administration of the Seva Stress Release. After the intervention, vital signs were obtained, and patients completed 2 additional surveys. After Seva, patient stress, fatigue, pain, heart rate, and respirations were significantly decreased (P = .000). Sixty-six percent of participants experienced symptom relief for at least 1 to 4 hours. Qualitative findings also indicated that patients reported better sleep and mental clarity after the intervention. The Seva protocol could be taught to nurses and be used as an independent intervention for patients experiencing adverse effects of cancer treatment, to promote comfort and reduce stress and fatigue.

Effects of a Social Media–Based Mind-Body Intervention Embedded With Acupressure and Mindfulness for Stress Reduction Among Family Caregivers of Frail Older Adults: Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

“…It can relieve physical symptoms relatively quickly. After 15 minutes of treatment, a significant decrease in stress, fatigue, pain, heart rate, and respiration in patients was observed, and more than half of the participants experienced stress relief for at least 1 to 4 hours [ 30 ]. Moreover, acupressure can be administered by individuals themselves after appropriate training and is a low-cost, safe, and flexible method [ 31 , 32 ].…”

“…Self-administered acupressure (SA) has been proven safe and has medium effects on reducing stress in family caregivers [ 33 - 35 ]. However, SA only concentrates on stress-related physiological symptoms such as pain, fatigue, and inappetence [ 30 , 36 ] and does not address the need for caregivers to cope with stress and their psychological needs. Previous studies have indicated that auricular-plaster, a type of acupressure, had a larger effect on stress reduction when combined with MM, which indicates that MM could be combined with SA to achieve additional effects on stress reduction among the caregivers of frail older people [ 37 ].…”

Effect of Acupressure on Stress and Anxiety of Patients with Multiple Sclerosis: A Sham-controlled Randomized Clinical Trial

“…In acupressure, to treat some diseases and induce relaxation, certain acupoints on the body skin are put under pressure with a finger or non-invasive tool [25]. The results of studies on the effect of acupressure on stress and anxiety of different patients are inconsistent [27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34]. There is also no strong evidence that acupressure is effective in improving or reducing stress and anxiety in people with MS [35].…”