effect of acupressure on low back pain in patients with spondylarthritis

effect of acupressure on low back pain in patients with spondylarthritis     mahmodzadeh ardakani h [1] *, akbari kaji m [2] , abotalabi g [3] , mohamannazhad a [4] , ghaforifard m [5]     received: 21 nov, 2011 accepted: 14 jan, 2012   abstract   background & aims : arthritis of the lumbar spine is known as disk arthritis. the most common and most important sign of disk arthritis is back pain. acupressure is among the methods of alternative medicine, its impact in reducing pain in various parts of the body and confirming invasive intervention does not account. therefore, this study’s aim is to determine the effect of acupressure on the rate of low back pain in patients with disc arthritis that referred to selected clinics in isfahan in 2010.   materials & methods : this study is a clinical trial. samples for this study included 40 patients with disc arthritis referred to clinics in isfahan hospitals: alzahra, sadughi, kashani and shariati. samples including 40 patients of spondylarthritis were selected by stratified .   intervention (acupressure technique) was performed for twenty minutes by professional acupuncture. measurements were taken before and after intervention and recorded the intensity of pain&apos;s samples by visual analog scale and numerical rating scale. for analyzing the data descriptive and analytical statistical methods (paired-sample t-test) and computer software spss18 were used .   result : the mean of pain after intervention (3.82) significantly decreased in comparison with before intervention (6.10). (p<0.001)   conclusion: by assessing the effects of acupressure as safe and effective intervention in reducing pain in patients in this study, this can be used a simple technique, cheap and executable in all health centers and even athome for patients to help them.   keywords: acupressure, low back pain, spondylarthritis     address: isfahan university faculty of nursing and midwifery falavarjan , tel : (+98) 9133030538   email: [email protected]   [1] m.sc. in nursing, faculty of nursing and midwifery, islamic azad university falavarjan (corresponding author)   [2] m.sc. in nursing ,lecturer, faculty of nursing and midwifery islamic azad university khorasgan branch(young researchers club)   [3] m.sc. in nursing, faculty of nursing and midwifery, islamic azad university, ardabil  [4] imam khomeini clinical & emergency complex, tehran university of medical sciences, tehran, iran  [5] m.sc. in nursing, faculty of nursing and midwifery, zanjan