Nonpharmacological Interventions for Pain Management in Paramedicine and the Emergency Setting: A Review of the Literature

Table 2

Intervention trials investigating the effect of acupressure on pain.

Study	Design	Participants	Intervention	Acupoints	Outcomes
Kober et al., 2002 [13]	Randomized double-blinded	with minor trauma and small injuries	Acupressure points were stimulated	LI4 (Hegu), PC9 (Zhongchong), PC6 (Neiguan), BL60 (Kunlun), and GV20 (Baihui)	Acupressure: ↓pain, anxiety, heart rate, and ↑patient satisfaction scores
		Group 1 (, 64 ± 21 years old, true acupressure), Group 2 (, 78 ± 18 years old, false acupressure), and Group 3 (, 63 ± 21 years old, no acupressure)
Kober et al., 2003 [14]	Randomized double-blinded	with	Acupressure in the ear with a small plastic ball (1 mm diameter)	Relaxation point	Acupressure: ↓anxiety, ↑perception of hospital medical treatment
		gastrointestinal illnesses
		Control (, sham, 70.0 ± 14 years old)
		Intervention (, 74.9 ± 15 years old)
Bertalanffy et al., 2004 [15]	Randomized double-blinded	with minor trauma	Korean hand acupuncture with hand patches consisting of hard plastic ball	K-K9 point located in the middle phalanx of fourth finger	Hand acupuncture: ↓nausea score, heart rate, vasoconstriction, and ↑overall patient satisfaction
		Control (, sham, 85.4 ± 17.1 years old)
		Intervention (, 87.6 ± 16.9 years old)
Barker et al., 2006 [16]	Randomized double-blinded	with hip fracture; Age = 86.2 years	Acupressure in the ear with 1 mm acupressure plastic beads	Shenmen, hip, and valium point	Acupressure: ↓pain, anxiety, and heart rate
		Control (, sham)
		Intervention ()
Lang et al., 2007 [17]	Randomized double-blinded	with distal radius fracture; Control (, sham); Intervention ()	Acupressure in the body with finger	Intervention: GV20 (Baihui) and LI4 (Hegu); Sham: BL17 (Geshu) and TE14 (Jianliao)	Acupressure: ↓pain, anxiety, heart rate, and ↑overall patient satisfaction