Acupressure for Fatigue and Low Back Pain
Condition: Fatigue; Chronic Low Back Pain
MeSH terms: Back Pain; Low Back Pain; Fatigue
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      The purpose of this study is to compare two kinds of self-administered acupressure
      (relaxation acupressure and stimulating acupressure) to usual care for management of fatigue
      and pain in low back pain patients.

      Hypothesis: Self-administered relaxation acupressure will result in improvements in fatigue
      and sleep quality, pain, and physical function compared to stimulating acupressure and usual
      care.
    

Detailed description: 
      Acupressure is a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) technique based on a philosophy similar
      to that of acupuncture. It involves the application of physical pressure on different
      acupuncture points (acupoints). One advantage of acupressure is the ability to
      self-administer the treatment. Acupressure is also a viable alternative to acupuncture in
      situations where patients: (1) cannot come to the clinic to receive an acupuncture treatment;
      (2) when a more frequent intervention is needed; or (3) where needle phobia or safety
      concerns are an issue.

      The objective of this study is to evaluate the validity and feasibility of teaching
      acupressure interventions using an acupressure educator for the management of symptoms
      related to low back pain.

      Specific aims:

        1. To examine the effect of 6-weeks of relaxation acupressure (RA) compared to a regime of
           stimulating acupressure (SA) or wait-list control (WL) on fatigue and sleep quality as
           assessed by Brief Fatigue Inventory and wrist-worn accelerometry (sleep efficiency).

        2. To explore the effect of 6-weeks of RA compared to a regime of SA or WL on for chronic
           low back pain in terms of reduced pain and improved function.
    

Intervention name(s): Relaxation acupressure; Stimulating acupressure
Intervention type(s): Behavioral; Behavioral
Intervention description(s): The relaxation acupressure protocol will use a set of nine fixed acupoints: forehead, twixt the eyebrows (unilateral); posterior neck, behind the ears (bilateral); palmer side of hand at wrist (bilateral); inside of lower leg (bilateral); top of foot (bilateral).
A trained acupressure educator will meet with each participant and demonstrate the sites and techniques for self-administered acupressure. Additionally, each participant will receive a demonstration DVD and a laminated handout detailing the locations of each acupoint.
Participants will be asked to perform daily acupressure sessions using the assigned sites. Each site is stimulated for 3 minutes, and the entire session can be completed in approximately 30 minutes.; The stimulating acupressure protocol will use a set of ten fixed acupoints: top of the head (unilateral); below the navel (unilateral); back of the hand (bilateral); outside of lower leg (bilateral); inside of lower leg (bilateral); inside of ankle (bilateral).
A trained acupressure educator will meet with each participant and demonstrate the sites and techniques for self-administered acupressure. Additionally, each participant will receive a demonstration DVD and a laminated handout detailing the locations of each acupoint.
Participants will be asked to perform daily acupressure sessions using the assigned sites. Each site is stimulated for 3 minutes, and the entire session can be completed in approximately 30 minutes.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single (Investigator)
Primary purpose: Treatment
Keywords: Pain; Acupressure; Symptoms; Fatigue; Self-administered