Multimodal assessments of acupressure in muscle fatigue of forearm

Abstract

Acupressure is an alternative traditional Chinese medicinal practice believed to restore blocked internal energy or qi by applying manual pressure to specific points on the body and acts as an intervention strategy to improve muscle performance. Previous studies found that acupressure is an effective alternative medicinal practice in treating certain diseases, but the physiological reaction of the muscle is still unclear. Thus, this study aimed to conduct multimodal assessments that include the effectiveness of stimulation on acupressure in muscle fatigue of the forearm. Thirty subjects were randomly divided into two groups. The first group (n=15) received acupressure intervention, while the second group received kneading massage and act as a control group (n=15). During the acupressure intervention, the subjects received acupoints located at LI 4 (Hegu) and LI 11 (Guchi), and the acupoints were performed for 15– 30 seconds per attempt for 2–3 minutes on the brachioradialis muscle of the forearm. On the other hand, the control group received the kneading massage technique for 2– 3 minutes on the forearm after completing the 2 sets of 5 squeezed hand grip exercises within 15 – 30 seconds by using an adjustable hand grip exerciser. The results of the intervention group showed that there were significant differences in the levels of calcium, sodium, and potassium ions from about 0.01 mmol/l to 0.08 mmol/l. As for the lactic acid results, there was a change between 0.02 mmol/l and 0.08 mmol/l and the mean p-value is 0.05. Meanwhile, the mean value on the Fatigue Assessment Scale (FAS) was between 2.67 before acupressure and 2.99 after acupressure. The decreases in FAS after acupressure indicate that the level of fatigue in the forearm is mild. In addition, the electromyography (EMG) analysis before and after acupressure to the intervention group shows that the mean of descriptive analysis is 0.56 and 0.58, which indicates that the median frequency of nerve conduction velocity values between 0.064 mV and 0.901 mV of muscle contraction during muscle fatigue is quicker after acupressure has been applied. In conclusion, acupressure is effective to treat muscle fatigue by indicating the increased levels of calcium, sodium, and potassium ions as well as lactic acid. On the other hand, the Fatigue Assessment Scale supported that there was significance in measuring the level of muscle fatigue. Furthermore, EMG is proven to be able to measure the physiological reaction of nerve conduction velocity of the muscle on acupressure. Therefore, acupressure shows potential for further research regarding the effectiveness, implications and applications of acupressure toward the mechanism of muscle fatigue.