Research

The following double-blind randomized, scientific studies support the efficacy of wrist acupressure in the relief of nausea due to morning sickness, motion sickness, anesthesia, and chemotherapy.

Motion Sickness

P6 Acupressure Increases Tolerance to Nauseogenic Motion Stimulation in Women at High Risk for Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting Aidah Alkaissi, RN/PhD, Torbjörn Ledin, MD/PhD, Lars M. Odkvist, MD/PhD, and Sigga Kalman, MD/PhD Canadian Journal of Anesthesia 2005, 52: 7; pp 703-709.
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Conclusion: In females with a history of motion sickness, P6 acupressure increased tolerance to experimental nauseogenic stimuli, and reduced the total number of symptoms reported.

Morning Sickness

Morning Sickness Control in Early Pregnancy by Neiguan Point Acupressure D. De Aloysio, MD, and P. Penacchioni, MD Obstetrics & Gynecology 1992; 80: pp 852-854.
Conclusion: Acupressure on the Neiguan point relieves morning sickness.
 
Acupressure Therapy for Morning Sickness: A Controlled Clinical Trial Elizabeth Hyde, CNM, MSN Journal of Nurse-Midwifery Vol. 34, No. 4, July/August 1989; pp 171-177.
Conclusion: Acupressure therapy resulted in statistically significant reductions in nausea.

Chemotherapy

The Efficacy of Acupressure and Acustimulation Wrist Bands for the Relief of Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting: A University of Rochester Cancer Center Community Clinical Oncology Program Multicenter Study Joseph A. Roscoe, PhD, Gary R. Morrow, PhD, MS, Jane T. Hickok, MD, MPH, Peter Bushunow, MD, H Irving Pierce, MD, Patrick J. Flynn, MD, Jeffrey J. Kirshner, MD, Dennis F. Moore, Jr., MD, and James N. Atkins, MD Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, Vol. 26, No. 2, August 2003; pp 731-742.
Conclusion: Patients in the acupressure condition experienced less nausea on the day of treatment compared to controls.

Anesthesia

Acupressure Treatment for Prevention of Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting Chin-Fu Fan, MD, Eduardo Tanhui, MD, Sanjoy Joshi, MD, Shivang Trivedi, MD, Yiyan Hong, MD, and Ketan Shevde, MD Anesthesia & Analgesia 1997; 84: pp 821-825.
Conclusion: Acupressure at the P6/Nei-Guan point is an effective prophylaxis for postsurgical nausea and vomiting and therefore a good alternative to conventional antiemetic treatment.
 
Acupressure and Prevention of Nausea and Vomiting During and After Spinal Anaesthesia for Caesarean Section D. Harmon, M. Ryan, A. Kelly, and M. Bowen British Journal of Anaesthesia 2000; 84 (4); pp 463-467.
Conclusion: The use of acupressure reduced the incidence of nausea or vomiting from 53% to 23% compared with placebo during the operation and from 66% to 36% compared with placebo after the operation.