The Effects of Hand Acupuncture & Moxibustion Therapy on Elders' Shoulder Pain, ADL/IADL and Sleep Disorders

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of hand acupuncture.moxibustion therapy on elders' shoulder pain, ADL/IADL and sleep disorder. METHODS: This is quasi-experimental with none equivalent control group pretest posttest design. The subjects were randomly assigned to one of Experimental Group A (Ceramic Seoammoxa therapy) (n=20), Experimental Group B (Seoampellet therapy) (n=18), Experimental Group C (Ceramic Seoammoxa and Seoampellet therapy) (n=20), and a control group (n=20). The intervention was applied 3 times per week for 6 weeks. NRS, Song's ADL/IADL scale, Oh, Shin and Kim's sleep disorders scale were used. RESULTS: Hypothesis "Both shoulder pain and the level of sleep disorders of the experimental group A, B and C would be lower than the control group" was supported (p<.001). Hypothesis "ADL/IADL of the experimental group A, B and C would be higher than the control group" was supported (p<.001). In 3 weeks after the experiment, the experimental group A, B and C showed significant difference in change of ADL/IADL (p=.013). In 6 weeks after the experiment, the experimental group A, B and C showed significant difference in change of ADL/IADL (p<.001) and sleep disorders (p<.001). CONCLUSION: Consequently, the hand acupuncture.moxibustion was an effective therapy in relieving shoulder pain and sleep disorders and improving ADL/IADL among elders.