Endorphin at Labor Pain and Acupressure

The Impact of Different Acupressure Procedures Performed on the Hand During Labor on Endorphin Levels and Labor Pain Perception: A Randomised Controlled Trial

This study was performed to determine the impact of different acupressure procedures, performed on women's hands during labor, on endorphin levels and labor pain perception.

The sample consisted of 140 pregnant women. The study was conducted with three experimental groups and one control group, each including 35 pregnant women. Conventional acupressure and warm and cold acupressure procedures were performed on the Large Intestinal 4 energy meridian zone acupressure point of the experimental group. No procedures were performed on the women in the control group. Data were collected using a "Personal Information Form", "Labor Intervention Follow-up Form", "Visual Analog Scale" and "Verbal Category Scale".

The comparison between the experimental and control groups indicated that the conventional acupressure procedure was effective in reducing labor pain and that the warm acupressure procedure increased endorphin levels.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Labor Pain
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Warm Acupressure, Cold Acupressure , Conventional Acupressure

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 140
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Turkey
  • Tokat, Turkey
    • Health Research and Training Hospital of Tokat Gaziosmanpaşa University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 45 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: Female

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Being a primipara
• Having intact membranes
• No skin diseases (such as urticaria...),
• No use of narcotic drugs
• Having a term pregnancy
• Having a single fetus at vertex position
• Planning to have vaginal delivery
• Having contractions and ongoing regular augmentation
• Having recent augmentation starting periods
• Being in the latent phase (0-3 cm dilatation)
• Having no history of high-risk pregnancy
• Not using analgesic drugs to reduce pain during delivery
• Having no systemic and neurologic diseases
• Having no contraction anomaly (hypotonic or hypertonic contractions)

Exclusion Criteria:

Having any of the above criteria.

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Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

4

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Warm Acupressure Procedure Group; Latent phase Visual Analog Scale and Verbal Category Scale I given as pretest First venous blood sample taken Active phase The first warm acupressure procedure was performed for ten minutes on the Large Intestinal 4 energy meridian zone acupressure point on the non-dominant hand. This process was repeated three more times at one-hour intervals. Visual Analog Scale II and Verbal Category Scale II were measured at the end of the active phase Transition phase The second warm acupressure procedure was performed three times at one-hour intervals A 30-minute break was given Visual Analog Scale III and Verbal Category Scale III were performed Second venous blood sample taken	Other: Warm Acupressure, Cold Acupressure , Conventional Acupressure; Acupressure is non-invasive, safe and effective.
Experimental: Cold Acupressure Procedure Group; Latent phase Visual Analog Scale I and Verbal Category Scale I given as pretest First venous blood sample taken Active phase The first cold acupressure procedure was performed for ten minutes on the Large Intestinal 4 energy meridian zone acupressure point on the non-dominant hand. This process was repeated three more times at one-hour intervals. Visual Analog Scale II and Verbal Category Scale II were measured at the end of the active phase Transition phase The second cold acupressure procedure was performed three times at one-hour intervals A 30-minute break was given Visual Analog Scale III and Verbal Category Scale III were performed Second venous blood sample taken	Other: Warm Acupressure, Cold Acupressure , Conventional Acupressure; Acupressure is non-invasive, safe and effective.
Experimental: Conventional Acupressure Group; Latent phase Visual Analog Scale I and Verbal Category Scale I given as pretest First venous blood sample taken Active phase Conventional acupressure was performed for 30 minutes on the Large Intestinal 4 energy meridian zone acupressure point on the non-dominant hand. This process was repeated twice more at one-hour intervals. Visual Analog Scale II and Verbal Category Scale II were measured at the end of the active phase Transition phase The second conventional acupressure procedure was performed twice at one-hour intervals A 30-minute break was given Visual Analog Scale III and Verbal Category Scale III were performed Second venous blood sample taken	Other: Warm Acupressure, Cold Acupressure , Conventional Acupressure; Acupressure is non-invasive, safe and effective.
No Intervention: Control Group; Latent phase Visual Analog Scale I and Verbal Category Scale I given as pretest First venous sample taken Active phase No procedure other than the routine clinical practices were carried out. Visual Analog Scale II and Verbal Category Scale II were measured at the end of the active phase Transition phase No procedure other than the normal clinical routines was conducted Visual Analog Scale III and Verbal Category Scale III were performed. Second venous blood sample taken

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
labor pain	pain scale	through study completion, an average of 1month
endorphin levels	physiological parameter	through study completion, an average of 1month

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Serap Ozturk Altinayak
• Investigators: Study Director: Hava Özkan, PhD, Atatürk University Faculty of Health Science, Department of Midwifery,

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): April 25, 2019
• Primary Completion (Actual): October 31, 2019
• Study Completion (Actual): January 8, 2020

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 23, 2020
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 28, 2020
• First Posted (Actual): April 29, 2020

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 29, 2020
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 28, 2020
• Last Verified: April 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: pregnant women; labor pain; acupressure; Midwifery; endorphins; warm acupressure; cold acupressure
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pain; Neurologic Manifestations; Labor Pain
• Other Study ID Numbers: 25.09.2018-04/2

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO
• IPD Plan Description: I want it published in a journal first.

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No