title: Ice massage for the reduction of labor pain.
abstract: The current study investigated the use of ice massage of the acupressure energy meridian point large intestine 4 (LI4) to reduce labor pain during contractions. LI4 is located on the medial midpoint of the first metacarpal, within 3 to 4 mm of the web of skin between the thumb and forefinger. A one-group, pretest, posttest design was chosen, which used 100-mm Visual Analog Scales (VAS) and the McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ) ranked numerically and verbally to measure pain levels; the pretest served as the control. Study participants were Hispanic and white Medicaid recipients who received prenatal care at a women's clinic staffed by certified nurse-midwives and obstetricians. Participants noted a pain reduction mean on the VAS of 28.22 mm on the left hand and 11.93 mm on the right hand. The postdelivery ranked MPQ dropped from number 3 (distressing) to number 2 (discomforting). The study results suggest that ice massage is a safe, noninvasive, nonpharmacological method of reducing labor pain.
authors.affiliation: SANE Project, LaPinon Rape Recovery Center, Las Cruces, NM, USA.
authors.forename: Bette L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Waters
authors.forename: Jeanne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Raisler
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016362:Analgesia, Obstetrical / Q000379:methods*; D017679:Cryotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006225:Hand; D006801:Humans; D007053:Ice; D007743:Labor, Obstetric; D008405:Massage / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D016740:Meridians; D059408:Pain Management; D010147:Pain Measurement; D011247:Pregnancy; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D007053:Ice