A STUDY TO ASSESS THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ACUPRESSURE IN REDUCING DYSMENORRHOEA AMONG NURSING STUDENTS OF A SELECTED COLLEGE OF NURSING AT MANGALURU.

BackgroundAcupressure is an ancient healing art that uses fingers to press key points on the surface of the skin to stimulate body’s natural self-curative abilities. When these points are pressed, they release muscular tension and promote the circulation of blood and body’s life force to aid healing.It has been reported that dysmenorrhoea can be successfully relieved by acupressure at Qihai (CV6), Guanyuan (CV4), Taichong (LIV3), Xuehai(SP10), Sanyinjiao (SP6). The sanyinjio acupoint is commonly used to induce labour and relieve pain during dysmenorrhoea. Dysmenorrhoea is a common problem among girls and acupressure is an effective non-invasive procedure to relieve pain. Acupoint Sanyinjiao (SP6) was selected for the study because it is the acupoint of choice in gynaecology and easy for girls to locate and apply pressure to without medical assistance.The aim of the study was to assess the effectiveness of acupressure in reducing dysmenorrhoea among nursing students.Materials and MethodA quasi experimental time series non-equivalent control group time series design was used for the present study. Forty nursing students who met the inclusion criteria was selected by using purposive sampling technique. Baseline proforma and numeric pain scale was used to assess the level of pain. Data analysis was done by using descriptive and inferential statistics such as frequency, range, mean, median, standard deviation, uppaired “t” tet and ANOVA for repeated measures.ResultThere was significant difference in pain between the two group soon after, after 30 minutes and after 1 hour. The mean score of dysmenorrhoea among students before acupressure (7.95) was higher than immediately after the intervention (6.35). After 30 minutes the mean score was 4.25 and after 1 hour the mean score was (1.25). The computed value of ANOVA (F= 344.881) was found to be significant (p<0.05) in reducing dysmenorrhoea. Unpaired‘t’ test was done comparing the experimental and control group at different time series was higher than the table value (t38 = 1.69) at p< 0.05 level of significant, hence research hypothesis was accepted i.e. acupressure was effective in reducing dysmenorrhoea.