Does Acupressure Hit the Mark? A Three-Arm Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial of Acupressure for Pain and Anxiety Relief in Athletes With Acute Musculoskeletal Sports Injuries.

Abstract

OBJECTIVES:

Injuries are a common consequence of sports and recreational activity. The optimal management of symptoms is a crucial element of sports injury management. Acupressure has previously been shown to effectively decrease symptoms of musculoskeletal injury, thus may be considered a potentially useful intervention in the management of sport-related injuries. Therefore, this study was conducted to examine the effectiveness of acupressure in decreasing pain and anxiety in acutely injured athletes.

DESIGN:

A prospective 3-arm randomized placebo-controlled trial.

SETTING:

A sports injury clinic, Dunedin, New Zealand.

PATIENTS:

Seventy-nine athletes who sustained a sport-related musculoskeletal injury on the day.

INTERVENTION:

Three minutes of either acupressure, sham acupressure, or no acupressure.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:

The primary outcomes of pain and anxiety intensity were measured before and immediately after the intervention on a 100-mm visual analog scale (VAS). Pain and anxiety relief, satisfaction with treatment, willingness to repeat a similar treatment, and belief in the effect of acupressure were secondary outcomes measured on Likert scales after the intervention.

RESULTS:

The acupressure group reported 11 mm less pain (95% CI: 5-17) on average than the sham acupressure group, and 9 mm less (95% CI: 3-16) than the control group as a result of the intervention (P < 0.05). There was no difference between groups in: anxiety levels, or in any of the secondary outcome measures.

CONCLUSIONS:

Three minutes of acupressure was effective in decreasing pain intensity in athletes who sustained an acute musculoskeletal sports injury when measured on the VAS, but did not change anxiety levels.

• Authors: Aleksandra K Mącznik, Anthony G Schneiders, Josie Athens, S John Sullivan
• Journal: Clinical journal of sport medicine : official journal of the Canadian Academy of Sport Medicine (Clin J Sport Med) Vol. 27 Issue 4 Pg. 338-343 (Jul 2017) ISSN: 1536-3724 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 28653963 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Randomized Controlled Trial)

Topics

• Acupressure
• Adolescent
• Adult
• Anxiety (therapy)
• Athletes
• Athletic Injuries (therapy)
• Female
• Humans
• Male
• New Zealand
• Pain Management (methods)
• Pain Measurement
• Prospective Studies
• Young Adult