Comparison of the Effects of Acupressure at Yong Quan (KI-۱) and Hegu (LI-۴) Acupoints on Hot Flashes in Menopaus: Clinical Trial

Background and Objective: The importance of menopause is due to the onset of menopausal symptoms and complications. Hot Flushes are one of the most common and earliest of them, for which treatments such as hormone therapy and non-pharmaceutical methods have been proposed. In this study due to the tendency of most patients in choosing non-pharmaceutical methods, we evaluated the effect of acupressure on hot flushes. Materials and Methods: This clinical trial was randomly conducted on ۹۰ subjects (۳۰ in KI-۱, ۳۰ in LI-۴, and ۳۰ in HT-۷ groups) selected through purposive sampling in Shahid Motahari clinic, Shiraz in ۲۰۱۴. Acupressure was applied on KI-۱, LI-۴, and HT-۷ acupoints by rotational method twice a week each time for ۵ minutes for ۵ weeks. The position of the KI-۱ acupoint is located on the sole of the foot, at the junction of the anterior ۱/۳ and posterior ۲/۳ of the line connecting the bases of the second and third toes with the heel. The HT-۷ acupoint is located at the wrist crease (on the radial side of the flexor carpi ulnaris tendon) between the ulna and the pisiform bones. Afterwards, the data were entered into the SPSS statistical software (v.۱۶) and analyzed using ANOVA. Results: The results showed a significant difference in the intensity of hot flashes in LI-۴ and KI-۱ groups (P<۰.۰۰۱), but no significant change was observed in the control group (P=۰.۲۳۳). Moreover, no significant difference was observed within the three groups regarding the duration of hot flashes (P>۰.۰۵). Nonetheless, a significant difference was found between the intervention groups and the control group with respect to the frequency of hot flashes (P<۰.۰۰۱). Conclusion: Our results show that acupressure is significantly effective in treating hot flashes. Therefore, acupressure can be recommended as an inexpensive and easily applicable treatment method.