Acupressure in Patients With Sickle Cell Disease

University of Cincinnati

Summary

The proposed research is to determine the clinical efficacy and neurobiological mechanisms of acupressure analgesia in patients with sickle cell disease (SCD).

Description

This study will help the investigators learn whether acupressure, a non-pharmacological alternative treatment approach, can help manage pain in patients with sickle cell disease. Acupressure involves the application of pressure stimulation at specific acupoints on the body. Acupressure may help relieve pain and is used for a wide variety of pain conditions. Participation in this study will consist of remote self-administered treatment every other day over 5 weeks, followed by 6 months of remote follow-up visits. During participation, subjects will: 1) receive detailed instruction on locating t…

Eligibility

Age range: 18–80 years
Sex: All
Healthy volunteers: No

Detailed criteria

Inclusion Criteria: Any gender 18-80 (Adults) years old Have been diagnosed with SCD and experiencing chronic pain in the past 6 months Either outpatient or inpatient or status changing between each other Willing to limit the current and the introduction of any new medications or treatment modalities for control of pain symptoms during the study visits Willing to stick to the scheduled acupressure treatments every other day for 5 weeks Fluent in English and capable of giving written informed consent Exclusion Criteria: Recent/ongoing alternative pain management with acupuncture/acupre…

Interventions

Device
Verum Acupressure (using AcuWand)
The acupressure procedure will consist of medium-deep pressure using a tool (AcuWand) to the selected acupoints on their bodies, as tolerated, at each assigned point, applied in a circular motion. Subjects will be trained to perform the treatment appropriately at all points and will complete the first treatment under supervision. Acupressure treatment will last for 3 minutes per point and be administered remotely every other day for 5 weeks.
Device
Sham Acupressure (using AcuWand)
The sham acupressure procedure will be performed using the same tool and methodology at each assigned sham acupoint. Subjects will be trained to perform the treatment appropriately at all points and will complete the first treatment under supervision. Treatment will be administered remotely every other day for 5 weeks.

Locations (2)

University of California, Irvine
Irvine, California
zpakbaz@hs.uci.edu 714-456-5153
University of Cincinnati
Cincinnati, Ohio
ywanglab@ucmail.uc.edu 513-653-0746

Description

Eligibility

Age range

18–80 years

Sex

All

Healthy volunteers

Detailed criteria

Interventions

Device

Verum Acupressure (using AcuWand)

The acupressure procedure will consist of medium-deep pressure using a tool (AcuWand) to the selected acupoints on their bodies, as tolerated, at each assigned point, applied in a circular motion. Subjects will be trained to perform the treatment appropriately at all points and will complete the first treatment under supervision. Acupressure treatment will last for 3 minutes per point and be administered remotely every other day for 5 weeks.

Device

Sham Acupressure (using AcuWand)

The sham acupressure procedure will be performed using the same tool and methodology at each assigned sham acupoint. Subjects will be trained to perform the treatment appropriately at all points and will complete the first treatment under supervision. Treatment will be administered remotely every other day for 5 weeks.