Effects of SP6 and ST36 Acupressure on Pain and Physiological Indexes in Addicted Men: A Single-Blind Randomized Clinical Trial

Background: pain is the most crucial reason to seek treatment, and acupressure is one of the most common ways to relieve pain; therefore, this study was conducted with the aim to investigate the effectiveness of acupressure on the reduction of pain and stability of physiological indexes in addicted men. methods: the present single-blind, randomized, clinical trial was performed on 90 participants who were hospitalized in an addiction treatment camp in masjed-e-soleyman, iran. the participants were divided into acupressure group (n = 45) and control group (n = 45) through allocating permutation blocks method. the acupressure group received acupressure on sp6 and st36 points for 3 consecutive sessions and each session for 10 minutes. the data collection tools used included a demographic information questionnaire, the short-form mcgill pain questionnaire (sf-mpq), and a physiological index registration form, tympanic thermometer, sphygmomanometer, pulse oximetry device, and digital watch. repeated measures anova was used to analyze the data. p ≤ 0.05 was considered statically significant. findings: there was a statistically significant decrease in the sensory dimension of pain in the acupressure group compared to the control group in all 3 sessions (p ≤ 0.001; p ≤ 0.001; p = 0.001, respectively). there was no statistically significant difference in the overall pain score (p ≥ 0.005), emotional pain dimension (p ≥ 0.005), and physiological indexes of pain (p ≥ 0.005) between the two groups after the intervention. conclusion: acupressure is a non-invasive and cost-effective method that reduces the sensory dimension of pain, and its application does not require special tools; thus, the use of such a safe and secure method for relieving pain is recommended.