Effectiveness of Acupressure at the Zusanli (ST-36) Acupoint as a Comfortable Treatment for Diabetes Mellitus: A Pilot Study in Indonesia

• Main Authors: Fitrullah (Author), Addison Rousdy (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: Medical Association of Pharmacopuncture Institute, 2017-04-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.

Summary

Diabetes mellitus is a dangerous disease worldwide. Indonesia has 10 million diabetic and 17.9 million prediabetic citizens. Unfortunately, less than half of these diabetic individuals are aware of their conditions and less than 1% of those receiving medical treatment achieve their healing targets. Because acupressure is believed to be an effective treatment without the use of drugs, in this study we investigated acupressure as a comfortable and effective way of treating patients with diabetes mellitus. This pilot study involved 30 participants who were split into two groups: 15 each in the experimental and the control groups. The experimental group underwent acupressure at the Zusanli (ST-36) acupoint for 30 minutes per visit for 11 weeks, whereas the control group continued their regular treatment; participants in both groups had their blood glucose randomly checked weekly. Data were analyzed using the Generalized Estimating Equation model; the result showed that the two groups were significantly different (p=0.331 > α=0.05; mean difference=99.14; Bonferroni sig. p=0.000 < α=0.05) and that acupressure at ST-36 was effective in reducing blood sugar. This research showed that acupressure was an effective method for reducing blood glucose and was helpful for reducing complications due to diabetes.

Item Description

2005-2901
10.1016/j.jams.2016.12.003