The effect of acupressure (GB30) on intramuscular injection pain and satisfaction: Single–blind, randomised controlled study

Aims and Objective To evaluate the effect of acupressure on intramuscular injection pain, satisfaction and vital signs. Background Pain at the injection site may lead to discomfort and may affect patients' compliance to treatment. Design This was a prospective, single‐blind, crossover study. The study complied with the guidelines of Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) Checklist. Methods Seventy‐two healthy volunteer university students received an intramuscular injection of 2 ml sterile saline (%0.9 NaCl) to the ventrogluteal site with and without acupressure on separate days in a random order following a standard procedure by the same investigator. Pain and satisfaction were assessed immediately after the injection with the visual analog scale (VAS) by a researcher blinded to the study. Results A total of 134 injections were analysed. The result of the study reveals that acupressure alleviates the severity of pain and increases the patient satisfaction. Conclusions The findings of this research support that use of acupressure, which is easy and cost‐effective, could reduce injection pain when performed on a specific point. Relevance to Clinical Practice Safe and accurate administration of medications is one of the crucial responsibilities of nurses. Acupressure is a nonpharmacologic approach, which can be effective in decreasing the injection pain and increasing patient satisfaction.