Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, UCB 345, University of Colorado at Boulder, 1905 Colorado Avenue, Boulder, CO 80309, United States.
Complement Ther Med. 2010 Feb;18(1):42-8. doi: 10.1016/j.ctim.2010.01.001. Epub 2010 Feb 6.
Acupressure, a complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) treatment, uses fingertips, rather than needles, to stimulate acupoints on the skin and has been implicated as a successful treatment for a variety of medical disorders. However, acupressure's underlying mechanisms remain unclear. One theory is that acupoint stimulation modulates autonomic nervous system activity. Previous studies have suggested that acupressure may positively affect heart rate and blood pressure. The current study investigated the effects of a type of acupressure, Jin Shin, on cardiovascular function in stroke survivors, a population that could especially benefit from a treatment promoting cardiovascular health. The study tested the hypothesis that active acupressure treatments would reduce heart rate and blood pressure (i.e., induce a greater relaxation response) above and beyond that seen during placebo acupressure treatments.
A randomised, placebo-controlled, single-blind crossover design was utilised, in which 16 participants received 8 weeks of either active or placebo acupressure followed by washout and crossover into the opposite treatment condition. Heart rate and blood pressure measurements were taken throughout treatments.
Active acupressure treatments were associated with a significantly greater (p=.043, eta(2)=.30) and faster (p=.002, eta(2)=.76) reduction in heart rate compared to that seen during placebo treatments. No treatment effect on blood pressure was found.
Active acupressure reduced heart rate significantly more than did placebo acupressure during treatments. Although no treatment effect on blood pressure was found, this could be due to 67% of participants taking antihypertensive medications during the study.
指压按摩是一种补充和替代医学（CAM）疗法，使用指尖而不是针刺激皮肤上的穴位，已被证明是治疗各种医疗疾病的有效方法。然而，指压按摩的潜在机制尚不清楚。一种理论认为，穴位刺激调节自主神经系统活动。先前的研究表明，指压按摩可能对心率和血压产生积极影响。目前的研究调查了一种指压按摩，即金神指压按摩，对中风幸存者心血管功能的影响，中风幸存者特别受益于促进心血管健康的治疗。该研究检验了这样一个假设，即主动指压按摩治疗将在安慰剂指压按摩治疗期间降低心率和血压（即诱导更大的放松反应）。
采用随机、安慰剂对照、单盲交叉设计，16 名参与者接受 8 周的主动或安慰剂指压按摩，然后洗脱并进入相反的治疗条件。在整个治疗过程中测量心率和血压。
与安慰剂治疗相比，主动指压按摩治疗与心率显著更快（p=.043，eta(2)=.30）和更显著（p=.002，eta(2)=.76）的降低相关。未发现血压的治疗效果。
与安慰剂指压按摩相比，主动指压按摩在治疗期间显著降低了心率。尽管未发现血压的治疗效果，但这可能是由于 67%的参与者在研究期间服用了降压药物。
