%0 Journal Article
%T The Changes in the Neck Meridian Test Scores Induced by Self-Administered Acupressure: A Secondary Analysis of Data from a Randomized Controlled Trial of Self-Administered Acupressure
%A Satoshi Horiuchi
%A Yasuhiro Honda
%J Chinese Medicine
%P 10-17
%@ 2151-1926
%D 2017
%I Scientific Research Publishing
%R 10.4236/cm.2017.81002
%X In the neck meridian test, the examinee stretches
his or her neck in four directions and rates the intensity of pain and/or
symptoms on a four point Likert scale. The four responses are summed to
calculate the test score. This study conducted secondary analyses of data from
a randomized controlled trial of self-administered acupressure. The study aimed
to examine the change of the neck meridian test score induced by
self-administered acupressure. The data of 54 (male, n = 34; female, n = 20)
students, who were randomly assigned to an intervention group (IG) and a
control group (CG), were subjected to secondary analyses. The IG participants
were asked to complete a self-administered acupressure intervention for two
weeks; the CG participants were not. In the IG, the perceived stress decreased
significantly over time, while the neck meridian test score decreased
significantly; in contrast, this score increased in the CG. A significant
positive correlation was found between the changes in the perceived stress and
neck meridian test scores. These results supported validity of the neck
meridian test as a tool for assessing perceived stress.
%K Neck Meridian Test
%K Perceived Stress
%K Qi Imbalance
%K Acupressure
%K Meridian Theory
%U http://www.scirp.org/journal/PaperInformation.aspx?PaperID=74828