Acupressure is a means of manipulating the same acupoints that are used in acupuncture, but without the needles. A literature review was conducted in two parts. The first part examines Western research regarding the prophylactic use of single-point acupressure. The second reviews a sample of mainly Chinese clinical research concerning the restorative use of multipoint acupressure. The primary literature search was conducted using the Research Council for Complementary Medicine database (CISCOM). The most convincing finding supporting the effectiveness of acupressure comes from methodologically rigorous studies of the use of PC6 as an antiemetic. A number of studies have shown that PC6 is more effective than placebo in reducing feelings of nausea during pregnancy, after surgery and in cancer chemotherapy. The scientific quality of most of the published studies examining the effectiveness of multipoint acupressure, predominantly auriculotherapy, has been poor, without adequate control groups, randomization, placebos, blinding and statistical analyses. There seems to be a cultural divide between theory and methodological rigour. The scientifically rigorous studies have tended to be atheoretical in selecting the acupoint for treatment and in explaining how the point may work.

Full text (sometimes free) may be available at these link(s):      help

• DOI
• PDF locator
• publisher

A brief summary and a critical assessment of this review may be available at DARE