Effects of Acupressure on Anxiety: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Au, Darren; Tsang, Hector W.H.; Ling, Paul P M; Leung, Chun Sing; Ip, Peter; Cheung, Wai Ming

doi:10.1136/acupmed-2014-010720

Cited by 74 publications

(55 citation statements)

References 21 publications

(63 reference statements)

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“…In addition, our study focused on community-dwelling participants, not hospitalized patients, and revealed the effectiveness of aroma massages in reducing anxiety among this population. Furthermore, Au et al found that anxiety following surgery was relieved by acupressure in 5 RCT studies [37], and this may help explain the reduction of state anxiety scores after aroma foot massage in this study. In other words, the reduction found in this study might be partially contributable to stimulation of acupuncture points as well as aroma foot massage.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 53%

The Effects of Aroma Foot Massage on Blood Pressure and Anxiety in Japanese Community-Dwelling Men and Women: A Crossover Randomized Controlled Trial

et al. 2016

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ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to investigate the effects of aroma foot massage on blood pressure, anxiety, and health-related quality of life (QOL) in Japanese community-dwelling men and women using a crossover randomized controlled trial.MethodsFifty-seven eligible participants (5 men and 52 women) aged 27 to 72 were randomly divided into 2 intervention groups (group A: n = 29; group B: n = 28) to participate in aroma foot massages 12 times during the 4-week intervention period. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP, respectively), heart rate, state anxiety, and health-related QOL were measured at the baseline, 4-week follow-up, and 8-week follow-up. The effects of the aroma foot massage intervention on these factors and the proportion of participants with anxiety were analyzed using a linear mixed-effect model for a crossover design adjusted for participant and period effects. Furthermore, the relationship between the changes in SBP and state anxiety among participants with relieved anxiety was assessed using a linear regression model.ResultsAroma foot massage significantly decreased the mean SBP (p = 0.02), DBP (p = 0.006), and state anxiety (p = 0.003) as well as the proportion of participants with anxiety (p = 0.003). Although it was not statistically significant (p = 0.088), aroma foot massage also increased the score of mental health-related QOL. The change in SBP had a significant and positive correlation with the change in state anxiety (p = 0.01) among participants with relieved anxiety.ConclusionThe self-administered aroma foot massage intervention significantly decreased the mean SBP and DBP as well as the state anxiety score, and tended to increase the mental health-related QOL scores. The results suggest that aroma foot massage may be an easy and effective way to improve mental health and blood pressure.Trial RegistrationUniversity Hospital Medical Information Network 000014260

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 53%

The Effects of Aroma Foot Massage on Blood Pressure and Anxiety in Japanese Community-Dwelling Men and Women: A Crossover Randomized Controlled Trial

et al. 2016

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“…Median APAISa level in the acupuncture group, but not in the control group: 10 (6-13 [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]) to 7 (4-10 [4-18]), p < 0.001 vs. 9 (6-13 [4-18]) to 8.5 (6-12 [4-18]), p = 0.872, respectively.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A recent meta-analysis on the use of acupressure for the management of anxiety concluded that acupressure was an effective anxiolytic, with a 'medium' treatment effect size observed [10]. This review included five randomised controlled trials (n = 314), but two of the studies examined anxiety in patients during transport, as opposed to before surgery.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Acupuncture has been investigated as a non-pharmacological method for reduction of anxiety. A recent meta-analysis suggested that acupuncture at the EX-HN3 (Yintang) and HT7 (Shenmen) points appeared to be an effective way of rapidly treating anxiety before medical procedures [10], although none of the studies included any neurosurgical patients. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of acupuncture at the EX-HN3 point on anxiety levels in neurosurgical patients immediately before surgery.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A randomised controlled trial examining the effect of acupuncture at the EX-HN3 (Yintang) point on pre-operative anxiety levels in neurosurgical patients

et al. 2017

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Pre-operative anxiety is an unpleasant state of psychological distress that occurs in up to 87% of patients awaiting neurosurgical procedures. Sedative medication is undesirable in this population due to the need for early postoperative neurological assessment. Acupuncture has previously been shown to reduce pre-operative anxiety, but studies involving neurosurgical patients are lacking. This single-centre, prospective, randomised controlled trial was designed to determine the effect of acupuncture at the EX-HN3 (Yintang point) on pre-operative anxiety levels in neurosurgical patients. The study was prospectively registered before participant recruitment. After measuring baseline anxiety levels, 128 patients were randomly allocated in a 1:1 ratio by a web-based computer program to receive either acupuncture at the EX-HN3 (Yintang) point (acupuncture group) or no intervention (control group). Participants were not blinded, but all analyses were performed by a member of the research team who was unaware of the group allocation. The primary outcome measure was anxiety level after 30 min, as measured by the six-item short form of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (possible score range 20-80). Sixty-two patients in each group were subsequently analysed. Median (IQR [range]) anxiety State-Trait Anxiety Inventory score reduced significantly in the acupuncture group (46.7 (36.7-53.3 [23.3-70.0]) to 40.0 (30.0-46.7) [20.0-53.3]), p < 0.001), with no change seen in the control group (41.7 (33.3-53.3 [20.0-76.7]) to 43.3 (36.7-50.0 [20.0-76.7]), p = 0.829). There were no adverse events in either group. Acupuncture at the EX-HN3 point reduces pre-operative anxiety levels in patients awaiting neurosurgery.

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“…There is also some evidence that acupressure may improve depression [19], anxiety [26] and QoL [21]. However, some studies have methodological limitations as well as variation in acupressure techniques and the selection of acupoints [19,20,26]. Future well-designed studies, using standardised treatment protocols, are required to provide evidence of acupressure's usefulness in clinical practice.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Acupressure to improve sleep quality of older people in residential aged care: a randomised controlled trial protocol

Hmwe

Browne

Mollart

et al. 2020

Trials

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Background: Sleep disturbance in older people is an important health issue that is associated with many other health problems. Effective interventions are required to address sleep problems in this group. Acupressure has been suggested as a potential therapeutic technique to improve sleep. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of an acupressure intervention on sleep quality, anxiety, depression, and quality of life among older persons in residential aged care facilities within an Australian context. Methods/design: This is a randomised controlled trial with two parallel groups in a pre-and post-test study. Study participants will be older people living in residential aged care facilities. They will be assigned to intervention and control groups using computer-generated random numbers. The intervention group will receive 12-min acupressure three times per week for four consecutive weeks, applied on three acupoints: HT7, PC6, and SP6. The control group will receive only routine care. The primary outcome measure is sleep quality, and secondary outcomes include anxiety, depression, and quality of life. Data will be collected before the intervention, immediately after the end of the intervention, and 2 weeks after the intervention. Discussion: This study targets a poorly met healthcare need of older people who are experiencing sleep disturbance and its negative consequences. To the researchers' knowledge, this is the first study evaluating acupressure in an Australian aged care context, using specific acupoints and a standardised acupressure protocol. If the results show positive outcomes, acupressure could be used to manage sleep disturbances for older people in the Australian context as well as in the global ageing population. This will contribute to reducing negative consequences of sleep disturbance and use of sleep medications.

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Effects of Acupressure on Anxiety: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Cited by 74 publications

References 21 publications

The Effects of Aroma Foot Massage on Blood Pressure and Anxiety in Japanese Community-Dwelling Men and Women: A Crossover Randomized Controlled Trial

The Effects of Aroma Foot Massage on Blood Pressure and Anxiety in Japanese Community-Dwelling Men and Women: A Crossover Randomized Controlled Trial

A randomised controlled trial examining the effect of acupuncture at the EX-HN3 (Yintang) point on pre-operative anxiety levels in neurosurgical patients

Acupressure to improve sleep quality of older people in residential aged care: a randomised controlled trial protocol

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