The Effect of Self-Acupressure on Peripheral Neuropathy, Disturbance in Daily Activity, and Quality of Life in Breast Cancer Patients undergoing Chemotherapy

Abstract

Purpose: This study was done to investigate the effects of self-acupressure on chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN), the degree of disturbance in daily activity, and the quality of life in breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy

Methods: A randomized controlled pre-post experimental design was employed. The mean difference of study variables between pre- and post-test was evaluated to test the effects of self-acupressure on LI11, LI10, LI4, ST36, Ex-UE9, and Ex-LE10. The study participants were breast cancer patients treated with taxane-based chemotherapy (experimental group 28 and control group 30). Participants were instructed on the method of self-acupressure and performed self-acupressure three times a day for three weeks. Peripheral neuropathy symptoms, the degree of disturbance in daily activity caused by peripheral neuropathy, and the quality of life were measured before and after self-acupressure. Data were collected from July 2020 to January 2021.

Results: The experimental group that performed self-acupressure showed a significant decrease in the degree of peripheral neuropathy symptoms and the degree of disturbance in daily activity caused by peripheral neuropathy compared with the control group. The experimental group also showed a significant improvement in the quality of life compared with the control group.

Conclusion: The self-acupressure program adopted in this study was found to be an effective method to reduce peripheral neuropathy and the degree of disturbance in daily activity, and to improve the quality of life. Therefore, self-acupressure is recommended to reduce CIPN among breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.