OBJECTIVES: Injuries are a common consequence of sports and recreational activity. The optimal management of symptoms is a crucial element of sports injury management. Acupressure has previously been shown to effectively decrease symptoms of musculoskeletal injury, thus may be considered a potentially useful intervention in the management of sport-related injuries. Therefore, this study was conducted to examine the effectiveness of acupressure in decreasing pain and anxiety in acutely injured athletes. DESIGN: A prospective 3-arm randomized placebo-controlled trial. SETTING: A sports injury clinic, Dunedin, New Zealand. PATIENTS: Seventy-nine athletes who sustained a sport-related musculoskeletal injury on the day. INTERVENTION: Three minutes of either acupressure, sham acupressure, or no acupressure. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcomes of pain and anxiety intensity were measured before and immediately after the intervention on a 100-mm visual analog scale (VAS). Pain and anxiety relief, satisfaction with treatment, willingness to repeat a similar treatment, and belief in the effect of acupressure were secondary outcomes measured on Likert scales after the intervention. RESULTS: The acupressure group reported 11 mm less pain (95% CI 5 to 17) on average than the sham acupressure group, and 9 mm less (95% CI 3 to 16) than the control group as a result of the intervention (p < 0.05). There was no difference between groups in: anxiety levels, or in any of the secondary outcome measures. CONCLUSIONS: Three minutes of acupressure was effective in decreasing pain intensity in athletes who sustained an acute musculoskeletal sports injury when measured on the VAS, but did not change anxiety levels.
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