The Effects of Meridian Massage on Climacteric Symptoms, BMD and Serum Hormone in Perimenopausal Women / 성인간호학회지

PURPOSE: We analyzed climacteric symptoms, bone mineral density (BMD), serum estradiol (E2) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) to identify the health benefits of meridian massage in perimenopausal women. METHODS: There were 16 women in the experimental group and 17 people in the control group. Meridian massage was performed for 4 weeks, 3 times a week for 20 minutes each session. The data were collected pre-treatment, posttreatment and 4 weeks after treatment. SPSS/WIN 11.5 was used for data analysis. RESULTS: After meridian massage, there were significant differences in climacteric symptoms (U = 65.50, p = .011) and BMD (U = 65.50, p = .011) between the two groups. The E2 level showed a significant difference between the two groups pre- and posttreatment (U = 75.00, p = .028). FSH showed a significant increase when measured at 4 weeks after the treatment as compared with the amount when measured post-treatment within the control group (z = -2.249, p = .025), experimental group showed a stable change in FSH. but there was no significant difference between the groups. CONCLUSION: In this study, we confirmed the effects of Meridian massage in decreasing climacteric symptoms, inhibiting the decrease of BMD and stabilizing serum hormone in perimenopausal women. Therefore, it can be considered for use as a nursing intervention for health management in perimenopausal women.

The Effects of Meridian Massage on Menopausal Symptoms and Shin-Hur in Middle-aged Menopausal Women / 간호학회지

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of meridian massage on menopausal symptoms and Shin-Hur in middle-aged menopausal women. METHOD: The research design was a nonequivalent control group pre-post experimental design. The subjects of the study were middle-aged women who had had no menstruation in the last 12 months after the last menstrual bleeding. Cards of invitation on bulletin boards of several apartments were placed to recruit the subjects. The cards of invitation included: purpose of the study, eligibility criteria, method and period. Eighteen women in the experimental group and 16 women in the control group were conveniently assigned, respectively. The experimental group received 20 min meridian massage 3 times per week for 4 weeks. The menopausal symptoms and Shin-hur were measured and compared between the two groups before and after the intervention. Data were analyzed with the SPSS program by Fisher's exact test, Wilcoxon Sign Rank test, Mann Whitney U-test and Spearman's rank correlation. RESULT: The experimental group showed a significant decrease of menopausal symptoms (U=77.00, p=.020) and Shin-Hur (U=76.00, p=.017). There was a significantly positive correlation between menopausal symptoms and Shin-Hur (r=.497, p=.003). CONCLUSION: Meridian massage was effective in improving menopausal symptoms and Shin-Hur in middle-aged menopausal women. Thus it can be useful as a nursing intervention for menopausal women.

The Effect of Hand Moxibustion Therapy on Pain during Menstruation / 성인간호학회지

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the effect of hand moxibustion for reduction of pain during menstruation. METHOD: Fifteen women were selected as subjects and data collection was conducted from September to December 2003. The Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and Digital Infrared Thermotraphic Image (DITI) were used to measure the degree of pain and body heat. RESULT: The results showed that there was a significant reduction of pain during menstruation when hand moxibustion was performed. Also, there were significant differences in the change of body heat. These were left hands (Z=-2.805, p=.005), right hands (Z=-2.805, p=.005) and lower abdomen (Z=-2.803, p=.005). CONCLUSION: It was found that hand moxibustion decreased pain during menstruation and increased body heat. Therefore, hand moxibustion may be a good method for intervention to decrease pain during menstruation.