Pressure on the extra 1 acupuncture point increases sedation and decreases stress, according to recent research.

In the study, “Pressure Applied on the Extra 1 Acupuncture Point Reduces Bispectral Index Values and Stress in Volunteers,” 25 subjects received acupressure on the extra 1 acupuncture point, located midway between the medial ends of the two eyebrows, at the root of the nose. On a different day, the subjects received acupressure on a control point two centimeters from the lateral end of the left eyebrow.

Pressure on the extra 1 point lasted for 10 minutes, while pressure on the control point lasted for five minutes, due to subjects’ discomfort with pressure on this point.

Effects of the acupressure were measured using the bispectral index and verbal stress scales. The bispectral index uses electroencephalography (EEG), the recording and analysis of electrical activity in the brain, to measure the depth of hypnosis and sedation in subjects. The verbal stress scales measure stress and tension on a scale of 0 to 10.

Bispectral index values were recorded, using a ZipprepTM electrode attached to the subject’s forehead, before the acupressure took place, every 30 seconds during acupressure, and after pressure was released. Subjects completed the verbal stress scale before and after the acupressure occurred.

Bispectral index values were significantly reduced at 2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10 minutes into acupressure on the extra 1 point, indicating an increase in sedation. After the pressure was released, the bispectral index values returned to baseline.
Pressure on the control point also decreased bispectral index values, but the values were significantly higher than those obtained during pressure on the extra 1 point.

Verbal stress scores were reduced by 50 percent after acupressure on the extra 1 point and by 14 percent after acupressure on the control point.

“Our results demonstrate a 50 percent reduction in [bispectral index] values when pressure was applied on the extra 1 point and a 50 percent reduction in anxiety and stress by pressing this point for 10 minutes,” state the study’s authors.

“The method may prove to be effective in attenuating anxiety and stress in everyday life as well,” they continued, “and may replace tranquilizers and hypnotics, at least in part, for thousands of people under stress.”

- Source: Department of Anesthesiology at Aretaieion Hospital and St. Savas Hospital, Athens, Greece. Authors: Argyro Fassoulaki, M.D., Ph.D.; Adia Paraskeva, M.D.; Konstantinos Patris, M.D.; Theodora Pourgiezi, M.D.; and Georgia Kostopanagiotou, M.D. Originally published in Anesthesia Analgesia, 2003, Vol. 96, pp. 885-889.

Acupressure significantly improved dyspnoea - shortness of breath - in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, according to a recent study.

“Effectiveness of acupressure in improving dyspnoea in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease” was conducted by staff at the Jen Teh Junior College of Medicine, Nursing and Management, in Miaoli, Taiwan; the Institute of Health and Welfare Policy and the Institute of Clinical Nursing at National Yang-Ming University, in Taipei, Taiwan; and the Institute of Chinese Medical Science at Chinese Medical College, in Taichung, Taiwan.

The study involved 44 subjects with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Subjects’ average age was 73, and most of them were men.

The participants were randomly assigned to either a true-acupressure group or a sham-acupressure group. Both groups had five sessions of acupressure per week, 16 minutes per session, for four weeks, for a total of 20 sessions.

In the true-acupressure group, the acupressure protocol involved the following acupoints: Great Hammer (GV14), Celestial Chimney (CV22), Lung Transport (B13), Kidney Transport (B23) and Fish Border (L10).

In the sham-acupressure group, the acupressure protocol involved the following acupoints, which are used to promote intestinal movement: Shang Hill (Sp5), Supreme White (Sp3) and Large Pile (Liv1).

Activity, fatigue and dyspnoea were rated at the beginning and end of the study using the Pulmonary Function Status and Dyspnoea Questionnaire-Modified (PFSDQ-M). Subjects also rated their levels of anxiety associated with dyspnoea using the State Anxiety Inventory at the start and finish of the study, and took a six-minute walking distance test as well, to evaluate tolerance of activity.
Oxygen saturation in the finger of each participant was measured before and after each acupressure session using a pulse oximeter.

Mean scores on the PFSDQ-M showed that dyspnoea in the true-acupressure group decreased significantly after the intervention and that fatigue levels for this group improved significantly, as compared to the sham-acupressure group.

Results of the State Anxiety Inventory showed that, on average, anxiety was significantly lower in the true-acupressure group than the sham group at the conclusion of the study.

Subjects in the true-acupressure group also improved significantly on the six-minute walking test, indicating that they had more tolerance for activity than the sham group.

Mean oxygen-saturation scores for the true-acupressure group were significantly greater than the sham group following each acupressure session, which suggests improved pulmonary function.

“We found significantly greater improvements in patients receiving acupressure at true acupoints compared with those receiving acupressure at sham points,” state the study’s authors. “This improvement related to all the variables studied and suggests that people with [chronic obstructive pulmonary disease] would benefit from acupressure at true acupoints.”

- Source: Jen Teh Junior College of Medicine, Nursing and Management, in Miaoli, Taiwan; Institute of Health and Welfare Policy, Institute of Clinical Nursing at National Yang-Ming University, in Taipei, Taiwan; Institute of Chinese Medical Science at Chinese Medical College, in Taichung, Taiwan. Authors: Hua Shan Wu, R.N.; Shiao-Chi Wu, Ph.D.; Juang-Geng Lin, Ph.D.; and Li-Chan Lin, Ph.D., R.N. Originally published in the Journal of Advanced Nursing, 2004, Vol. 45, No. 3, pp. 252-259.

Acupressure and massage ease fatigue and depression in people with end-stage renal disease - kidney failure - who are undergoing hemodialysis, a recent study reported.

“The effect of Acupressure with Massage on Fatigue and Depression in Patients with End-Stage Renal Disease” was conducted by staff at the National Tainan Institute of Nursing Department of Nursing, in Tainan, Taiwan, and the National Taipei College of Nursing Graduate Institute, in Taipei, Taiwan.

Sixty-two people with end-stage renal disease undergoing hemodialysis participated in the study. They were randomly assigned to either the experimental group, where they received acupressure and massage, or the control group, where they continued to receive standard care.

Subjects in the experimental group received acupressure for 12 minutes per day, followed by a three-minute massage of the legs, three days a week, for four weeks. The acupressure points Zusanli, Sanyinjiao, Taixi and Yungchuan were deemed appropriate for easing fatigue and depression.

These points were pressed and rubbed using the pads of the fingers with a force of about three-to-five kilograms for five seconds, with a one-second release at the end. Each point was stimulated for three minutes. After 12 minutes of acupressure, subjects’ legs were massaged for three minutes.

Researchers used the revised Piper Fatigue Scale to measure fatigue, and the Chinese version of Beck’s Depression Inventory was used to measure depression, at the beginning and end of the four-week study.
The results of the study revealed a significant decrease in perceived fatigue from the start to the finish of the study for subjects in the experimental group, whereas the control group showed no significant difference in perceived fatigue from pretest to post-test.

There was also a significant improvement from pretest to post-test on depression scores for the experimental group. The control group showed no significant difference in depression scores from the beginning to the end of the study.

The study’s authors concluded that acupressure with massage could effectively improve fatigue and depression in people with end-stage renal disease, and that it should be considered when caring for this population.

“Assessment of [end-stage renal disease] patients’ fatigue and depression should be an essential part of nursing practice, and clinicians may consider providing acupressure therapy as a method for improving dialysis patients’ fatigue and depression,” state the study’s authors. “Nurses, patients and their families could be easily trained to administer acupressure to those who have fatigue and depression.”

- Source: National Tainan Institute of Nursing Department of Nursing, in Tainan, Taiwan, and National Taipei College of Nursing Graduate Institute, in Taipei, Taiwan. Authors: Yi-Ching Cho, R.N., Shiow-Luan Tsay, R.N., Ph.D. Originally published in Journal of Nursing Research, 2004, Vol. 12, No. 1, pp.51-58.