The Effect of Auricular Acupressure for Chronic Low Back Pain in Elders: A Randomized Controlled Study

Soo Kyoung Kim, Hyojung Park

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

9 Scopus citations

Abstract

Chronic low back pain (CLBP) is a major problem throughout the world and getting worse because of population increase and aging. The cost of treatment increases as the population of people with CLBP increases. This study aimed to examine the effect of auricular acupressure (AA) on pain and disability in elders with chronic low back pain. The randomized, single-blinded, and placebo-controlled study was conducted on 51 elders with CLBP in South Korea from June 2019 to August 2019. The experimental group (n = 26) received AA on low back pain-related points, whereas the placebo control group (n = 25) received AA on points unrelated to low back pain. Participants received 6 weeks of AA in weekly cycles. Collected data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics, version 25. Statistically significant differences between the 2 groups emerged in the visual analog scale (P <.001), pain threshold (P <.001), and Oswestry Disability Index (P <.001). This study showed that 6 weeks of AA improved CLBP and pain-related disability. Therefore, AA can be used as a noninvasive and self-managed alternative intervention for CLBP in older adults.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)182-190
Number of pages9
JournalHolistic Nursing Practice
Volume35
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2021

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Lippincott Williams and Wilkins. All rights reserved.

Keywords

  • auricular acupressure
  • chronic low back pain
  • disability
  • elders
  • randomized controlled study

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