The Effect of Acupressure on Pain Intensity and Activities of Daily Living of Elderly Women

Chronic pain is one of the most common and serious problems in old age that if not controlled, leads to reduced daily activities. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of acupressure on pain and daily activities in elderly women. 

This was a quasi-experimental study with a pre-test and post-test design, which was conducted on 80 elderly women who were referred to the health centers of Qazvin, Iran. The subjects were randomly assigned to the experimental (n=40) and control (n=40) groups. The data were collected by visual analogue scale (VAS) and barthel index (BI). The experimental group received ten sessions of acupressure for three consecutive weeks on the related acupoints (LIV3, UB62, SP9, GB34, UB17, GB30, UB (UB25-UB11), GB20, GB21). Each acupoint was massaged for one minute in a circular motion until the elderly could bear it. The control group received sham acupressure. Post-test was performed one week after the end of ten intervention sessions. The data were analyzed by Chi-square test and independent t-test using SPSS software v. 20. The significance level was set at P<0.05.

Before the intervention, there was no statistically significant difference in the level of pain intensity (P=0.352) and daily activities (P=0.420) between the groups. After the intervention, the pain intensity of the subjects in the intervention group decreased (P<0.001) and their daily activities improved compared to the control group (P<0.001). 

According to the findings, acupressure is an affordable, low-cost, easy, and non-invasive complementary therapy, which is recommended to reduce pain intensity and promote activities of daily living in older women.