The Effect of Self Acupressure in Patients With Multiple Sclerosis

The Effect of Self Acupressure on Fatigue and Sleep Quality in Patients With Multiple Sclerosis

Patients with MS use non-pharmacological methods as well as pharmacological methods in the treatment of their symptoms. Acupuncture, acupressure, aquatherapy, reflexology and aromatherapy are also complementary and integrated methods frequently used in patients with MS. Integrated methods, which have an important place in independent nursing practices, have been preferred in nursing practices in recent years due to their safety, ease of application and minimal side effects. In addition, acupressure application is included in the Nursing Interventions Classification, and is a method that increases the independent functions of the nurse and improves patient-nurse interaction.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Multiple Sclerosis
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: acupressure application

Detailed Description

In addition to pharmacological methods, patients with MS also use non-pharmacological methods in the treatment of the symptoms they experience. Acupuncture, acupressure, aquatherapy, reflexology and aromatherapy are also complementary and integrated methods frequently used in MS. Integrated methods, which have an important place in independent nursing practices, have been preferred in nursing practices in recent years due to their safety, ease of application and minimal side effects. In addition, acupressure application is included in the Nursing Interventions Classification (NIC), and is a method that increases the independent functions of the nurse and improves patient-nurse interaction. In addition, it is reported that acupressure, which is used in symptom control, should be used in care plans by nurses because it is one of the integrated methods. Acupressure, one of the integrated treatment methods used for many years, can be applied to increase sleep quality and reduce fatigue levels. Acupressure is a massage technique based on the principle of applying pressure to specific points on the body using hands, fingers and stimulator tools. It has been determined that acupressure, which is reported to be applied safely by nurses in the literature, is effective in controlling fatigue, pain, sleep quality, depression, anxiety, quality of life and stress levels of patients with MS. Therefore, nurses should be able to apply integrated methods in the management of symptoms experienced by patients with MS in cooperation with other members of the healthcare team and inform patients about these methods. It is believed that the results of the study to be conducted on this subject will contribute to nursing interventions in the symptom management of MS.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 40
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Turkey
  • Van, Turkey
    • Yuzuncu Yıl University , Faculty of health science

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Between the ages of 18-65,
• Those who can read and write,
• Those who can speak Turkish,
• Patients diagnosed with multiple sclerosis,
• Patients who do not have a neurological disease other than MS,
• Those who volunteer to participate in our study,
• Patients who are conscious and do not have a psychiatric health problem

Exclusion Criteria:

• • Patients with nerve, soft tissue, vascular disease infections in their extremities, who have undergone surgery,

  • Patients with bleeding problems, pacemaker or heart failure and a diagnosed condition, mass and flattening in the neck,
  • Patients with a diagnosis other than MS (such as subarachnoid hemorrhage, aneurysm, dementia, a psychiatric disease),
  • Patients who have had a hemorrhagic stroke,
  • Patients with malignancy,
  • Patients with vision and hearing problems,
  • Patients who do not volunteer to participate in our study

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Double

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: acupressure; The patients in the experimental group received acupressure application for a total of 8 sessions, 2 sessions per week. The first application was performed in a room in the polyclinic by a researcher with an acupressure application certificate. Immediately after the preparation phase, the researcher applied acupressure with the thumb in a certain order (Ht7-Ht7 and St36-St36) on each point to be pressed, in accordance with the acupressure application protocol, for a duration of 2 minutes. Verbal communication was maintained during the procedure to ensure the patient's relaxation. After the first application, the application was taught to the patient. In addition, the researcher established a WhatsApp group for regular follow-up of the patients in the experimental group, and the video recording of the acupressure was sent to the patients and they were asked to watch it.	Other: acupressure application; The patients in the experimental group received acupressure application for a total of 8 sessions, 2 sessions per week.
No Intervention: Control; During the study, it was explained to the control group that their fatigue and sleep quality levels would be monitored for four weeks without any intervention (other than routine treatment given by the physician). Patients in this group were asked to fill out the Fatigue Severity Scale and the Richard-Campbell Sleep Scale at the beginning and again in the 4th week.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Fatigue Severity Scale	The scale is a Likert type with 9 questions, and each question is rated from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). The total score varies between 9-63, with total scores of 27 and above indicating fatigue.	4 weeks
Richard-Campbell Sleep Scale	The scale consists of 6 items. The items measure the depth of night sleep, the time it takes to fall asleep, the frequency of waking up, the time it takes to stay awake when you wake up, the quality of sleep, and the noise level in the environment. A score of "0-25" indicates "very bad sleep", and a score of "76-100" indicates "very good sleep". While the total score of the scale is calculated, the scores from the 5 items are added up, and the 6th item is not included in the total score evaluation. The minimum score from the scale is 0 and the maximum score is 100. An increase in the score from the scale indicates an increase in sleep quality.	4 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Yuzuncu Yıl University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Gülden Atan, PHD, Faculty of health science, Yuzuncu Yıl University , Van, TURKEY.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): March 18, 2024
• Primary Completion (Actual): July 18, 2024
• Study Completion (Actual): September 3, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: September 10, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 17, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): September 19, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): October 16, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 10, 2024
• Last Verified: October 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Multiple Sclerosis; Fatigue; Sleep Quality; Acupressure
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pathologic Processes; Nervous System Diseases; Immune System Diseases; Demyelinating Autoimmune Diseases, CNS; Autoimmune Diseases of the Nervous System; Demyelinating Diseases; Autoimmune Diseases; Multiple Sclerosis; Sclerosis
• Other Study ID Numbers: MS-GULDEN

Drug and device information, study documents

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