Acupressure Bands Relieve Radiation-induced Nausea

Acupressure bands effectively relieve nausea related to radiation therapy treatments, according to researchers at the University of Rochester in New York.

In a three-pronged clinical trial that also assessed patient expectations, Joseph A. Roscoe, Ph.D., et al, investigated whether acupressure bands would relieve radiation-induced nausea. The bands have been used to alleviate nausea associated with chemotherapy, but questions remain about whether patient expectations affect the outcome.

Patients in the current trial who had experienced nausea from prior radiation therapy treatments were randomly selected to receive standard care or standard care plus acupressure bands, along with either neutral or positive information on their efficacy.

The study participants who received the acupressure bands reported a 23.8 percent decrease in nausea compared to a 4.8 percent decrease in the control group.

“Acupressure bands are an effective, low-cost, nonintrusive, well-accepted and safe adjunct to standard antiemetic medication,” the authors concluded in the article “Acupressure Bands are Effective in Reducing Radiation Therapy-Related Nausea,” published March 28, 2009, in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management.

The authors determined that manipulating information on the band’s efficacy didn’t alter expectations.