title: Acupressure for treating neurological disorders: a systematic review.
abstract: The objective of this review is to assess the clinical evidence for or against acupressure as a treatment for neurological disorders. We searched the literature from 12 databases from their inception to July 2010. We included any type of controlled clinical trial (CCT) in which patients with neurological disorders were treated with acupressure. The methodological quality of all clinical trials was assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias analysis. In total, two randomized clinical trials (RCTs) and four CCTs were included. Four studies (one RCT and three CCTs) compared the effects of acupressure with routine care or no treatment in patients with stroke and showed significant effects of acupressure on improving patient function and symptoms. One RCT, which compared acupressure with sham acupressure and no treatment in patients with headache, also showed that acupressure significantly reduced headache severity and pain. However, all trials were open to methodological limitations and a high risk of bias. In conclusion, current evidence showing that acupressure is an effective treatment for improving function and symptoms in patients with stroke is limited. However, the evidence is insufficient to draw conclusions concerning the effects of acupressure on other neurological disorders. More rigorous studies are warranted.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of East-West Medical Science, Kyung Hee University, Yongin, South Korea. franchisjun@naver.com
authors.forename: Jeong-Sook
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Myeong Soo
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Kyungyoon
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Min
authors.forename: Jae-Hwan
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Lew
authors.forename: Beom-Joon
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D019050:Acupressure / Q000379:methods*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000628:therapy*; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic