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Effectiveness of Auricular Acupressure on Improving Pain and Heart Rate Variability in Patients After Cervical Spine
Ying-Yin Liu1, Tsui-Wei Chien, Chin-Ching Li
1Author Affiliations: Department of Nursing, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei City, Taiwan (Ms Liu); School of Nursing, National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences, Taipei City, Taiwan (Dr Chien); and Department of Nursing, MacKay Medical College, New Taipei City, Taiwan (Dr Li).
Abstract:
Cervical spine surgery is a common neurosurgical procedure; however, postoperative pain remains a problem. This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of auricular acupressure, which is considered a noninvasive, convenient, and safe method for pain reduction and heart rate variability in patients after surgery. A total of 62 patients who underwent cervical spine surgery were randomly divided into experimental (32 patients) and control (30 patients) groups. Both groups received routine care, whereas the experimental group received auricular acupressure three times a day for four days. The Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire was administered, and heart rate variability measurements were obtained on the first, second, third, and fourth postoperative days. The results indicated that auricular acupressure was effective in reducing pain ( P < .05) and improving heart rate variability ( P < .05) in patients. Based on the findings, this study suggests that auricular acupressure can be used as a complementary treatment to reduce pain in patients after cervical spine surgery.
