Effect of Acupressure on Dysmenorrhoea Among Nursing Students

Dysmenorrhoea is the common gynaecological disorder among adolescents which interferes with daily activities, including school activities. Majority of the girls feel shy to discuss menstrual problems and wish to treat the pain and symptoms by self, without consulting a doctor. This study presents the effects of acupressure at the Sanyinjio point on dysmenorrhoea. The study was carried out on BSc Nursing students of the Yenepoya Nursing College of Mangalore in 2012 among 70 participants with dysmenorrhoea and all were rating higher than five for pain on a Numerical Rating Scale. The experimental group (n=35) received acupressure at Sanyinjio point while the control group (n=35) restedfor 20 minutes. Three instruments were used to collect pre-test and post-test date (1) Baseline data for determining dysmenorrhoea, (2) Symptoms checklist dysmenorrhoea, and(3) Numerical Rating Scale. Data were analysed using chi- square, t test, and ANOVA. Result showed that there was a signicant difference with respect to pain before and after the use of acupressure. The pre-test mean of the experimental group was 7.09 and the post-test I, post-test II, post-test III, showed an apparent decrease in the mean dysmenorrhoea score which was 4.80, 4.20, and 3.54, respectively. The ANOVA computed within the group showed the F value as 115.125, which was higher than the table value (2.70) at df of 3, 102. This shows that the post-test dysmenorrhoea score of the experimental group was significantly lower than the pre-test dysmenorrhoea score. Acupressure was effective in lowering the dysmenorrhoea.