Smoking represents one of the greatest current risks to public health. Among the several therapies for quit smoking (addiction treatment programs) advertised is common to find acupuncture. In particular, auricular acupuncture.
The auricular acupuncture can be done with needles, electrical stimulation or by placing small bead – can be seeds – into specific acupuncture points located on the ear. A pilot study entitled “Acupressure for smoking cessation – a pilot study”[i] intended to study the effectiveness of pressure on auricular acupuncture points in patients treated to quit smoking.
All patients were subjected to nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) and psychological group therapy.
The scientific study was a randomized and controlled pilot study and was conducted in a group program of six weeks and was aimed at studying the viability of auricular acupressure as an adjunct method to quit smoking.
The study created three groups: group A with two auricular acupressure beads, Group B with one auricular acupressure bead and group C with no additional therapy. Participants were told to push the ball whenever they feel the desire to smoke. The beads were placed in one ear and used during four weeks and replaced where necessary.
It was noted that patients pressed the ball in very early days and then failed to stimulate as the days passed. The study encountered several problems such as lack of data on the consumption of NRT. However the data on withdrawal symptoms were almost complete.
The data relating to withdrawal symptoms were not statistically significant in any group at any week of study. The authors concluded that any benefits obtained with auricular acupressure to quit smoking are hardly detectable by methods used in this study.
The auricular acupuncture can be done with needles, electrical stimulation or by placing small bead – can be seeds – into specific acupuncture points located on the ear. A pilot study entitled “Acupressure for smoking cessation – a pilot study”[i] intended to study the effectiveness of pressure on auricular acupuncture points in patients treated to quit smoking.
All patients were subjected to nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) and psychological group therapy.
The scientific study was a randomized and controlled pilot study and was conducted in a group program of six weeks and was aimed at studying the viability of auricular acupressure as an adjunct method to quit smoking.
The study created three groups: group A with two auricular acupressure beads, Group B with one auricular acupressure bead and group C with no additional therapy. Participants were told to push the ball whenever they feel the desire to smoke. The beads were placed in one ear and used during four weeks and replaced where necessary.
It was noted that patients pressed the ball in very early days and then failed to stimulate as the days passed. The study encountered several problems such as lack of data on the consumption of NRT. However the data on withdrawal symptoms were almost complete.
The data relating to withdrawal symptoms were not statistically significant in any group at any week of study. The authors concluded that any benefits obtained with auricular acupressure to quit smoking are hardly detectable by methods used in this study.
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar