Korean J Women Health Nurs.  2010 Mar;16(1):20-28. 10.4069/kjwhn.2010.16.1.20.

Effect of the Auricular Acupressure Therapy on Dysmenorrhea of Puberty Girls

• Kim SY
• Lee HY

• KMID: 2308015
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4069/kjwhn.2010.16.1.20

Abstract

PURPOSE
The purpose of this study was to identify the effect of auricular acupressure therapy on dysmenorrhea of puberty girls.
METHODS
This study was a pretest-posttest design with a nonequivalent control group. The subjects of this study were 61 girls who were middle and high school students in Seoul and the experiencing dysmenorrhea; 31 for the experimental group and 30 for the control group. The obtained data were analyzed by SPSS/WIN 12.0 program.
RESULTS
The experimental group which applied the auricular acupressure therapy scored lower for low abdominal pain (F=136.13, p=.000), low back pain (F=62.79, p=.000). autonomic nervous system reactions (F=102.31, p=.000) and negative emotions on the menstruation (F=102.31, p=.000) compared to the control group. There were significant interaction effects of auricular acupressure on low abdominal pain, low back pain, autonomic nervous system reactions, and negative emotions on the menstruation between time and group.
CONCLUSION
We observed that auricular acupressure therapy is effective for reliving pain and the symptom of dysmenorrhea. Based on these result, auricular acupuncture is useful by individual nursing intervention and improves the quality of life for dysmenorrhea of puberty girls.

Keyword

Auricular acupressure; Dysmenorrhea; Puberty

MeSH Terms

Abdominal Pain
Acupressure
Acupuncture, Ear
Autonomic Nervous System
Dysmenorrhea
Female
Humans
Low Back Pain
Menstruation
Puberty
Quality of Life

Figure

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  Figure 1 Meridian points of auricular acupuncture therapy.

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  Figure 2 Apply the sticker needles on the points.

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