Acupressure for Pain and Anxiety After Cesarean Section

NCT07805720 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 608/DHYD-HDDD
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 60
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate whether acupressure combined with standard post-operative modern medical care can reduce pain and anxiety in postpartum women after cesarean delivery under spinal anesthesia. The main questions it aims to answer are:

• Does acupressure combined with standard care reduce post-cesarean pain more effectively than sham acupressure with standard care?
• Does the combined approach reduce post-cesarean anxiety levels more effectively than sham acupressure with standard care?
• What adverse effects may occur in participants receiving acupressure? Researchers will compare acupressure combined with standard care to sham acupressure combined with standard care to determine whether the active intervention provides additional benefits. Participants will:
• Receive acupressure (or sham acupressure at non-therapeutic points) for 3 days.
• Receive standard post-operative modern medical pain management and care as prescribed by the hospital.
• Be assessed for pain (VAS-P) and anxiety (VAS-A, STAI-Y1) at baseline (before intervention) and after 3 days of intervention.

Conditions

Postoperative Pain; Postpartum Anxiety; Acupressure

Keywords

Acupressure; Cesarean Section; Anxiety; Postoperative Pain; LI4; PC6; SP6

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Change in pain score (Visual Analog Scale for Pain, VAS-P)

  Pain is assessed using Visual Analog Scale (VAS-P) ranging from 0 to 10, where 0 indicates no pain and 10 indicates the worst possible pain.

  From baseline (T1, pre-intervention) to Day 3 (T2, post-intervention)

Secondary Outcomes (3)

• Change in anxiety score (Visual Analog Scale for Anxiety, VAS-A)

  From baseline (T1, pre-intervention) to Day 3 (T2, post-intervention)

• Change in state anxiety score (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory - State scale, STAI-Y1)

  From baseline (T1, pre-intervention) to Day 3 (T2, post-intervention)

• Incidence of adverse events related to the intervention

  From baseline (T1, pre-intervention) to Day 3 (T2, post-intervention)

Study Arms (2)

Real Acupressure + Standard Care

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants receive real acupressure at Hegu (LI4), Neiguan (PC6), and Sanyinjiao (SP6) points for 15 minutes daily over 3 consecutive days post-cesarean section, combined with standard modern medical care.

Procedure: Acupressure; Behavioral: Standard care

Sham Acupressure + standard care

SHAM COMPARATOR

Participants receive sham acupressure at non-acupoints for 15 minutes daily over 3 consecutive days post-cesarean section, combined with standard modern medical care.

Procedure: Sham Acupressure; Behavioral: Standard care

Interventions

Sham Acupressure PROCEDURE

Sham acupressure using identical techniques (xoa, day, an), duration (3 days), and instructions at 3 bilateral non-therapeutic points: Sham Hegu (on the back of the hand, 1 thon from the midpoint between index and middle fingers), Sham Neiguan (inner forearm, 2 thon from wrist crease and 1.5 thon towards the radial side), and Sham Sanyinjiao (3 thon above the medial malleolus, then 1.5 thon posterior on the Achilles tendon). All procedures will be performed by a licensed traditional medicine physician.

Sham Acupressure + standard care

Acupressure PROCEDURE

Manual massage and acupressure using techniques of rubbing (xoa) for 20-30 seconds, followed by pressing (an) for 5 seconds, kneading (day) for 5 seconds, and resting for 5 seconds, repeating for 2 minutes per point. A total of 15 minutes for 6 bilateral points (Hegu \[LI4\], Neiguan \[PC6\], Sanyinjiao \[SP6\]) will be performed once daily for 3 consecutive days. All procedures will be performed by a licensed traditional medicine physician following standardized protocols.

Real Acupressure + Standard Care

Standard care BEHAVIORAL

Standard post-operative modern pain management of the hospital: Post-op Day 1: Paracetamol 1g IV q6-8h ± Diclofenac 100mg rectally q12h; Post-op Day 2 onwards: Paracetamol 1g PO q8h ± Diclofenac 100mg rectally q12h or other NSAIDs as prescribed.

Real Acupressure + Standard Care

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: female
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Postpartum women aged 18 years or older who have undergone cesarean delivery with spinal anesthesia.
• Gestational age \>= 37 weeks.
• Willing to participate and signing the written informed consent form.

You may not qualify if:

• General anesthesia or methods other than spinal anesthesia.
• Hearing, vision, or speech impairment.
• History of chronic diseases such as uncontrolled diabetes, severe hypertension, cardiovascular disease, or psychiatric disorders.
• Diagnosed with chronic pain before surgery, or regular use of pain medications.
• Opioid, alcohol addiction or dependence.
• Pathological cesarean deliveries (placenta praevia, placental abruption, placenta accreta).
• Multiple pregnancies (twins, triplets, etc.).
• Post-operative complications (wound infection, hemorrhage, coagulation disorders, or loss of the child).
• Severe postpartum urinary retention requiring urinary catheterization.
• Refusing to participate.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City: lead

Study Sites (1)

Tien Giang Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital

Mỹ Tho, Tien Giang, Vietnam

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Pain, Postoperative; Anxiety Disorders

Interventions

Acupressure; Standard of Care

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Postoperative Complications; Pathologic Processes; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Pain; Neurologic Manifestations; Signs and Symptoms; Mental Disorders

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Therapy, Soft Tissue; Musculoskeletal Manipulations; Complementary Therapies; Therapeutics; Physical Therapy Modalities; Rehabilitation; Quality Indicators, Health Care; Quality of Health Care; Health Services Administration; Health Care Quality, Access, and Evaluation

Study Officials

• Dieu Huong Truong

  University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: DOUBLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Master Student

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: September 1, 2026
• First Posted: September 4, 2026
• Study Start: April 25, 2026
• Primary Completion: May 10, 2026
• Study Completion: May 10, 2026
• Last Updated: September 10, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-09

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

VN (1)