Korean J Adult Nurs.  2013 Jun;25(3):356-364.

Effects of Auricular Acupressure on Menstrual Pain, Dysmenorrhea, and Academic Stress in Women College Students

• Ro SO
• Lee HY
• Lee J
• Kim M

Abstract

PURPOSE
The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of auricular acupressure on menstrual pain, dysmenorrhea and academic stress among college students.
METHODS
A non-equivalent pretest-posttest design was used. Participants were 57 female students recruited from one college. The treatment group (n=30) received an auricular acupressure on a valid zone and the control group (n=27) received an auricular acupressure on an invalid zone (placebo). The independent t-test and chi2-test were used to examine group differences by using SPSS/Win18.0.
RESULTS
Subjects in the treatment group reported much less menstrual pain of premenstrual day (p=.001), 1st day (p<.001), 2nd day (p=.003), and dysmenorrhea (p=.003). Of significance, participants in the treatment group reported much less academic stress (p=.049) following auricular acupressure.
CONCLUSION
The findings support that auricular acupressure is effective in controlling menstrual pain and academic stress related to menstruation. As the method is simple it would be useful for women students to be taught and encouraged to utilize this method to mitigate the symptoms related to menstruation through self care.

MeSH Terms

Acupressure
Dysmenorrhea
Female
Humans
Menstruation
Self Care

Figure

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  Figure 1 The spot of valid zone.

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  Figure 2 The spot of invalid zone (placebo).

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