The efficacy of acupressure at the Sanyinjiao point in the improvement of women's general health.

OBJECTIVES:
This study's objective was to examine the effectiveness of Sanyinjiao point (SP6) acupressure on women's general health.
DESIGN:
This was a randomized, single-blind clinical trial.
SETTING:
The setting for this trial was at Medical University, Bojnoord University of Medical Science, Bojnoord, Iran.
MATERIALS AND METHODS:
Eighty-six (86) university students were recruited for this study. Their demographic characteristics were gathered before the intervention commenced. Participants completed General Health Questionnaires (GHQ) prior to participation. Next, they were randomly assigned to either the acupressure-receiving group or the sham-pressure-receiving group. The study group received acupressure at the Sanyinjiao point, while the control group received sham pressure.
OUTCOME MEASURES:
Both groups completed GHQ after both the first and second months of intervention. Data analysis was carried out using SPSS version 13.5 for Windows.
RESULTS:
The mean age of those who completed the study was 20.84±1.64 years. Mean scores of GHQs were similar between groups before intervention (p>0.05). The general health of participants in both groups improved after intervention, and the amelioration in four domains was significant in the groups (p<0.05 within group). It was found that acupressure was more effective than sham pressure. In addition, there was a statistically significant difference between the two groups in the four domains of their general heath after the first month of the intervention (p<0.0001). Furthermore, the general health status of the participants changed much more after the second month in both the acupressure intervention and the sham pressure groups; nevertheless, acupressure was more effective than sham pressure (p<0.05).
CONCLUSIONS:
Both acupressure and sham pressure were effective in promoting women's general health; nevertheless, the efficacy of acupressure was more than that of sham pressure. SP6 acupressure could be regarded as a self-manageable approach to improve women's general health.
PMID: 22082432