Home-based acupressure for managing constipation and subjective well-being in spinal cord injury survivors: A randomized controlled trial.

IF 4 2区医学 Q1 INTEGRATIVE & COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE

Journal of Integrative Medicine-Jim Pub Date : 2025-08-07 DOI:10.1016/j.joim.2025.08.001

Meng-Qi Li, Yan Li, Winsome Lam, Wing Fai Yeung, Yuen Shan Ho, Jia-Ying Li, Tsz Ching Sun, Sam Yuen, Yu-le Hu, Jannelle Yorke

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background: Spinal cord injury (SCI) survivors often experience constipation, which contributes to a reduced sense of well-being and a lower quality of life. Acupressure offers a non-pharmacological and non-invasive alternative therapy for treating constipation.

Objective: This study examined the effects of home-based acupressure on constipation and subjective well-being among SCI survivors.

Design, setting, participants and interventions: This randomized controlled trial randomly assigned 80 adults from Hong Kong with SCI to two study groups. Using a video demonstration filmed by a registered traditional Chinese medicine practitioner, the intervention group performed home-based acupressure (self-administered or caregiver-assisted) twice daily, 15 min/session, for 10 consecutive days. The control group performed manual light touching of the abdomen with the same frequency and duration as the intervention group. Both groups received defecation education through a structured booklet.

Main outcomes measures: The primary outcome was constipation severity. Secondary outcomes included bowel habits, psychological well-being, and quality of life. Focus group interviews were conducted after the intervention to collect subjective feedback from participants.

Results: Significant group-by-time interaction effects on constipation severity (P = 0.005) and quality of life (P = 0.001) revealed that home-based acupressure produced better results than the control. These treatment effects persisted at the one-month follow-up and continued to have a large effect size (Cohen's d > 0.8). Compared to the control group, the acupressure group also had improvements in anxiety (Cohen's d = 0.69) and depression (Cohen's d = 0.72) at the end of the intervention period. Three qualitative categories were identified from the focus group interviews: improvements in bowel function and management; reduced psychological distress following relief from constipation; and acceptability of home-based acupressure.

Conclusion: Acupressure effectively relieves constipation, enhances psychological well-being, and improves quality of life in people with SCI. These data provide novel evidence supporting the use of home-based acupressure as an acceptable and effective therapy for treating constipation after SCI.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05558657). Please cite this article as: Li MQ, Li Y, Lam W, Yeung WF, Ho YS, Li JY, Sun TC, Yuen S, Hu YL, Yorke J. Home-based acupressure for managing constipation and subjective well-being in spinal cord injury survivors: A randomized controlled trial. J Integr Med. 2025; Epub ahead of print.

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家庭穴位按摩治疗脊髓损伤幸存者便秘和主观幸福感：一项随机对照试验。

背景：脊髓损伤（SCI）幸存者经常经历便秘，这有助于降低幸福感和生活质量。穴位按压为治疗便秘提供了一种非药物和非侵入性的替代疗法。目的：本研究探讨了家庭穴位按压对脊髓损伤幸存者便秘和主观幸福感的影响。设计、环境、参与者和干预措施：本随机对照试验将80名香港脊髓损伤成人随机分为两个研究组。干预组使用由注册中医拍摄的视频演示，每天两次，每次15分钟，连续10天进行家庭穴位按压（自我管理或护理人员协助）。对照组采用与干预组相同的频率和持续时间，对腹部进行手工轻触。两组都通过一本有组织的小册子接受了排便教育。主要结局指标：主要结局为便秘严重程度。次要结果包括排便习惯、心理健康和生活质量。干预后进行焦点小组访谈，收集参与者的主观反馈。结果：组间交互作用对便秘严重程度（P = 0.005）和生活质量（P = 0.001）有显著影响，表明家庭穴位按压治疗效果优于对照组。这些治疗效果在一个月的随访中持续存在，并继续具有较大的效应量（Cohen's d = 0.8）。与对照组相比，穴位按压组在干预期结束时焦虑（Cohen’s d = 0.69）和抑郁（Cohen’s d = 0.72）方面也有改善。从焦点小组访谈中确定了三个定性类别：肠道功能和管理的改善；减轻便秘后的心理困扰；以及家庭穴位按摩的可接受性。结论：穴位按压可有效缓解脊髓损伤患者便秘，增强心理健康，改善生活质量。这些数据提供了新的证据，支持使用家庭穴位按压作为治疗脊髓损伤后便秘的一种可接受和有效的治疗方法。试验注册：ClinicalTrials.gov （NCT05558657）。李明明，李勇，林伟，杨文峰，何玉云，李建勇，孙振东，袁生，胡玉玲，Yorke J.家庭穴位按摩治疗脊髓损伤幸存者便秘和主观幸福感：一项随机对照试验。集成医学[J]；打印前Epub。

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来源期刊

Journal of Integrative Medicine-Jim Medicine-Complementary and Alternative Medicine

CiteScore

9.20

自引率

4.20%

发文量

3319

期刊介绍： The predecessor of JIM is the Journal of Chinese Integrative Medicine (Zhong Xi Yi Jie He Xue Bao). With this new, English-language publication, we are committed to make JIM an international platform for publishing high-quality papers on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and an open forum in which the different professions and international scholarly communities can exchange views, share research and their clinical experience, discuss CAM education, and confer about issues and problems in our various disciplines and in CAM as a whole in order to promote integrative medicine. JIM is indexed/abstracted in: MEDLINE/PubMed, ScienceDirect, Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), Scopus, Embase, Chemical Abstracts (CA), CAB Abstracts, EBSCO, WPRIM, JST China, Chinese Science Citation Database (CSCD), and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). JIM Editorial Office uses ThomsonReuters ScholarOne Manuscripts as submitting and review system (submission link: http://mc03.manuscriptcentral.com/jcim-en). JIM is published bimonthly. Manuscripts submitted to JIM should be written in English. Article types include but are not limited to randomized controlled and pragmatic trials, translational and patient-centered effectiveness outcome studies, case series and reports, clinical trial protocols, preclinical and basic science studies, systematic reviews and meta-analyses, papers on methodology and CAM history or education, conference proceedings, editorials, commentaries, short communications, book reviews, and letters to the editor. Our purpose is to publish a prestigious international journal for studies in integrative medicine. To achieve this aim, we seek to publish high-quality papers on any aspects of integrative medicine, such as acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine, Ayurveda medicine, herbal medicine, homeopathy, nutrition, chiropractic, mind-body medicine, taichi, qigong, meditation, and any other modalities of CAM; our commitment to international scope ensures that research and progress from all regions of the world are widely covered. These ensure that articles published in JIM have the maximum exposure to the international scholarly community. JIM can help its authors let their papers reach the widest possible range of readers, and let all those who share an interest in their research field be concerned with their study.