MassageMag: Acupressure & Motion Sickness

[Guest guest]

I have also personally found the homeopathic rememdy, Cocculus, to

be very helpful for motion sickness. The rest of the symptom

picture has to match of course, but it is a good first place to

start your research.

Other comments?

Misty L. Trepke

http://health.

 

 

Massage Magazine

 

http://www.massagemag.com/Magazine/2002/issue96/research96.2.php

 

Acupressure Relieves Symptoms of Motion Sickness

Subjects susceptible to motion sickness reported significantly fewer

symptoms when wearing Acuband, a commercially available acupressure

band, during a recent research study.

 

" Acupressure relieves the symptoms of motion sickness and reduces

abnormal gastric activity, " was conducted by Robert M. Stern, Ph.D.,

a professor of psychology and head of the gastrointestinal

psychology laboratory at Pennsylvania State University, along with

students Michael D. Jokerst, Eric R. Muth and Chris Hollis. The

study was published in Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine.

Twenty-five subjects, ages 18 to 22, were prescreened for

susceptibility to motion sickness and randomly assigned to one of

six possible orders in which they would be tested: once with Acuband

on the wrist, once with Acuband on the arm and once with no Acuband

at all. Each of the three sessions occurred at least one week apart.

Subjects were tested in a rotating optokinetic drum with black and

white stripes covering the inner surface. Each subject sat on a

stool inside the drum, with his or her chin on a chinrest. A camera

was mounted inside the drum to make sure the subject's eyes were

open and looking straight ahead at the stripes. For the first eight

minutes, the drum remained stationary while baseline data were

recorded. The drum was then rotated at 10 revolutions per minute for

16 minutes, or until the subject requested that it be stopped.

 

At the start of each session, electrodes were attached to the

subject's skin over the stomach to record the level of gastric

tachyarrhythmia, an abnormal gastric activity often associated with

nausea. A strain gauge was placed around each subject's chest to

measure respiration, and subjects were asked to describe any motion

sickness symptoms over an intercom every two minutes.

 

Before an Acuband-wrist session, the Acuband was placed between the

two tendons on the wrist and three finger widths up from the wrist

crease. Before an Acuband-arm session, the Acuband was positioned

three finger widths down from the elbow crease on the top side of

the forearm. Subjects were told to apply circular pressure on the

button of the Acuband as soon as they began to experience any

symptoms of motion sickness.

 

Eighteen of the 25 subjects (72 percent) reported fewer symptoms of

motion sickness with Acuband on the wrist, as compared with no

Acuband. Sixteen of the 25 subjects (64 percent) reported fewer

symptoms of with Acuband on the forearm, as well.

 

The results of this study, according to its authors, " indicate that

an Acuband worn on the wrist and on the forearm relieves the

symptoms of motion sickness and reduces gastric tachyarrhythmia, the

abnormal electrical activity of the stomach that is a reliable

physiological marker of motion sickness. "

 

- Source: Pennsylvania State University Gastrointestinal Psychology

Laboratory. Authors: Robert M. Stern, Ph.D.; Michael D. Jokerst, MS;

Eric R. Muth, Ph.D.; Chris Hollis. Originally published in

Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, 2001, Vol. 7, pp. 91-

94.