Article: Acupressure, reflexology, and auricular acupressure for insomnia: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials

File Download Links for fulltext
(May Require Subscription)
Supplementary
  • Basic View
  • Metadata View
  • XML View
TitleAcupressure, reflexology, and auricular acupressure for insomnia: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials
AuthorsYeung, WF1
Chung, KF1
Poon, MMK1
Ho, FYY1
Zhang, SP2
Zhang, ZJ1
Ziea, ETC3
Wong, VT3
KeywordsAcupressure
Acupuncture
Auricular acupressure
Meta-analysis
Reflexology
Systematic review
Issue Date2012
PublisherElsevier BV. The Journal's web site is located at http://www.elsevier.com/locate/sleep
CitationSleep Medicine, 2012, v. 13 n. 8, p. 971-984 [How to Cite?]
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sleep.2012.06.003
AbstractPrevious randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have shown that acupuncture may be efficacious for insomnia. Instead of needling, acupressure, reflexology, and auricular acupressure are procedures involving physical pressure on acupoints or reflex areas. These variants of acupuncture are gaining popularity, perhaps due to their non-invasive nature. A systematic review has therefore been conducted to examine their efficacy and safety for insomnia. Two independent researchers searched five English and 10 Chinese databases from inception to May 2010. Forty RCTs were identified for analysis. Only 10 studies used sham controls, four used double-blind design, nine studies scored three or more by the Jadad scale, and all had at least one domain with high risk of bias. Meta-analyses of the moderate-quality RCTs found that acupressure as monotherapy fared marginally better than sham control. Studies that compared auricular acupressure and sham control showed equivocal results. It was also found that acupressure, reflexology, or auricular acupressure as monotherapy or combined with routine care was significantly more efficacious than routine care or no treatment. Owing to the methodological limitations of the studies and equivocal results, the current evidence does not allow a clear conclusion on the benefits of acupressure, reflexology, and auricular acupressure for insomnia. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.
ISSN1389-9457
2011 Impact Factor: 3.4
2011 SCImago Journal Rankings: 0.173
DOIhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sleep.2012.06.003
ReferencesReferences in Scopus
DC Field
Value
dc.contributor.authorYeung, WF
dc.contributor.authorChung, KF
dc.contributor.authorPoon, MMK
dc.contributor.authorHo, FYY
dc.contributor.authorZhang, SP
dc.contributor.authorZhang, ZJ
dc.contributor.authorZiea, ETC
dc.contributor.authorWong, VT
dc.date.accessioned2012-08-16T05:57:36Z
dc.date.available2012-08-16T05:57:36Z
dc.date.issued2012
dc.description.abstractPrevious randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have shown that acupuncture may be efficacious for insomnia. Instead of needling, acupressure, reflexology, and auricular acupressure are procedures involving physical pressure on acupoints or reflex areas. These variants of acupuncture are gaining popularity, perhaps due to their non-invasive nature. A systematic review has therefore been conducted to examine their efficacy and safety for insomnia. Two independent researchers searched five English and 10 Chinese databases from inception to May 2010. Forty RCTs were identified for analysis. Only 10 studies used sham controls, four used double-blind design, nine studies scored three or more by the Jadad scale, and all had at least one domain with high risk of bias. Meta-analyses of the moderate-quality RCTs found that acupressure as monotherapy fared marginally better than sham control. Studies that compared auricular acupressure and sham control showed equivocal results. It was also found that acupressure, reflexology, or auricular acupressure as monotherapy or combined with routine care was significantly more efficacious than routine care or no treatment. Owing to the methodological limitations of the studies and equivocal results, the current evidence does not allow a clear conclusion on the benefits of acupressure, reflexology, and auricular acupressure for insomnia. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.
dc.description.naturepostprint
dc.identifier.citationSleep Medicine, 2012, v. 13 n. 8, p. 971-984 [How to Cite?]
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sleep.2012.06.003
dc.identifier.citeulike11514345
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sleep.2012.06.003
dc.identifier.epage984
dc.identifier.hkuros204316
dc.identifier.issn1389-9457
2011 Impact Factor: 3.4
2011 SCImago Journal Rankings: 0.173
dc.identifier.issue8
dc.identifier.pmid22841034
dc.identifier.scopuseid_2-s2.0-84865295924
dc.identifier.spage971
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10722/159818
dc.identifier.volume13
dc.languageeng
dc.publisherElsevier BV. The Journal's web site is located at http://www.elsevier.com/locate/sleep
dc.publisher.placeNetherlands
dc.relation.ispartofSleep Medicine
dc.relation.referencesReferences in Scopus
dc.rightsNOTICE: this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Sleep Medicine. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Sleep Medicine, 2012, v. 13 n. 8, p. 971-984. DOI: 10.1016/j.sleep.2012.06.003
dc.rightsCreative Commons: Attribution 3.0 Hong Kong License
dc.subjectAcupressure
dc.subjectAcupuncture
dc.subjectAuricular acupressure
dc.subjectMeta-analysis
dc.subjectReflexology
dc.subjectSystematic review
dc.titleAcupressure, reflexology, and auricular acupressure for insomnia: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials
dc.typeArticle
Author Affiliations
  1. The University of Hong Kong
  2. Hong Kong Baptist University
  3. Hospital Authority