Acupressure reduces lasting symptoms in breast cancer survivors

(HealthDay)—Acupressure is associated with improvements in co-occurring symptoms in breast cancer survivors with fatigue, according to a study recently published in JNCI Cancer Spectrum.

Suzanna Maria Zick, M.P.H., from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and colleagues evaluated changes in depressive symptoms, anxiety, and pain before and after randomization to self-acupressure (either relaxing or stimulating) or usual care (typical sleep-management techniques) among 288 breast cancer survivors with fatigue participating in a clinical trial.

The researchers found that after treatment, depressive symptoms improved significantly for the relaxing acupressure group (41.5 percent) versus the stimulating acupressure (25 percent) and usual care (7.7 percent) groups. For anxiety, both acupressure groups were associated with greater improvements than usual care. Only relaxing acupressure was associated with greater reductions in pain severity, while only stimulating acupressure was associated with greater reductions in pain interference. There were no statistically significant moderators of sleep quality, anxiety, or depressive symptoms.

"Acupressure was associated with greater improvements than usual care in anxiety, pain, and symptoms of depression in breast cancer survivors with troublesome fatigue," the authors write.

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