Background

Balance disorders are common in the elderly and are a major cause of falls. This study aimed to determine the effect of acupressure on dynamic balance in elderly women.

Methods

This randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted on 72 elderly women in Qazvin, Iran. The intervention group received rotary massage using the thumb at the pressure points for 4 weeks, 3 times a week for 20 minutes each session. Dynamic balance in both groups was measured before, 2 and 4 weeks after the intervention using timed up and go test and the step test. Data were analyzed using two way repeated measures ANOVA.

Results

The mean age of participants was 67.34 ± 6.30 with a range of 60 to 80 years old. The results showed statistically significant improvement in the dynamic balance quantified by timed up and go test (%Δ = 26.53) and step test for the right (%Δ = 35.22) and left (Δ% = 32.62) legs (p < .001). However, in the control group, no significant change was observed in the dynamic balance after completion of the program.

Conclusion

The results support that acupressure therapy can be an effective, safe, and inexpensive method to improve the dynamic balance and maintain maximum autonomy of the elderly.

中文翻译：

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穴位按摩对老年妇女动态平衡的影响：随机对照试验。

背景

平衡失调在老年人中很常见，并且是跌倒的主要原因。这项研究旨在确定穴位按摩对老年妇女动态平衡的影响。

方法

这项随机对照临床试验是在伊朗Qazvin的72位老年妇女中进行的。干预组使用拇指在受压点进行旋转按摩，持续4周，每周3次，每次疗程20分钟。两组均在干预前，干预后2周和4周进行动态平衡测量，采用定时走动测试和阶跃测试。使用两种重复测量方差分析对数据进行分析。

结果

参与者的平均年龄为67.34±6.30，范围为60至80岁。结果表明，通过定时走走测试（％Δ= 26.53）和右腿（％Δ= 35.22）和左腿（Δ％= 32.62）的阶跃测试所量化的动态平衡具有统计学上的显着改善（p <.001） 。但是，在对照组中，完成程序后动态平衡没有观察到明显变化。

结论

结果表明，穴位按摩疗法可以是一种有效，安全且廉价的方法，可以改善动态平衡并保持老年人的最大自主权。