Acupressure reduces agitated behaviour in people with dementia

Acupressure is a kind of massage that originates in China. The treatment involves the stimulation of certain acupoints by pressing with the fingers or slowly moving limbs or joints. Previous studies have shown that this treatment shows subjective evidence of improved cognition and reduced agitated behaviour in people with dementia. The aim of this study was to see if objective measures of improvement could be made. Participants received four weeks of acupressure treatment and control groups had the same period of visits and conversation. Acupressure was carried out twice daily and took 15 minutes. The acupressure group showed a significant decline in agitated and aggressive behaviour.