Acupressure

What it is

Acupressure presses specific body points with the fingers, a tool or a wristband. The most-studied point is P6 (Neiguan) on the inner wrist, often used with a wristband [1]. Auricular acupressure presses points on the ear, most often Heart, Shenmen and Subcortex [2]. Self-acupressure teaches people to press the points themselves [3]. Acupressure is a separate topic from acupuncture, which uses needles, although reviews often group the two together [1].

What the research says

Nausea and vomiting after surgery: eleven trials of laparoscopic surgery found fewer patients with nausea or vomiting, with pooled risk ratios between 0.44 and 0.65 [4]. A 2025 Cochrane network review found that wristband pressure on P6 reduced nausea compared with sham, with low certainty [1].

Chemotherapy-related nausea: ten trials of P6 pressure found less acute and delayed nausea, but the effect on delayed vomiting was not statistically significant [5]. A breast cancer review found less acute and delayed nausea when acupressure was added to usual antinausea drugs [6].

Nausea in pregnancy: 33 trials with 3,390 women found lower nausea scores [7]. Compared with sham pressure, 11 trials found lower symptom scores but no clear reduction in the number of women with nausea and vomiting [8].

Sleep quality: a 2018 review of 32 trials found better Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index scores, 3.4 points better than sham across seven trials [9]. Auricular acupressure for insomnia in breast cancer patients improved sleep quality scores (mean difference -3.36) across 15 studies [2]. Other reviews found no advantage over sham pressure [10] or only a marginal one [11].

Fatigue: in 171 ovarian cancer survivors, six weeks of self-acupressure reduced fatigue more than usual care, and sham self-acupressure did about as well [3]. In 106 people on dialysis, acupressure reduced fatigue compared with sham pressure in a single-blinded trial [12].

Anxiety: auricular acupressure lowered anxiety scores compared with usual care in 76 women after caesarean delivery [13].

Bowel function: 34 trials of ear acupressure for constipation found more complete bowel movements, with low to very low quality evidence [14].

Pain: in 272 adults with chronic low back pain, auricular acupressure lowered pain by 1.73 points more than an education control [15]. In 90 women in active labour, pressure on BL23 reduced pain compared with sham pressure and standard care, but the relief was temporary [16]. In 67 students with period pain, pressing SP6 for three months reduced pain compared with a sham point [17].

Doses used in studies

Sleep reviews used 3 to 5 kg of pressure for one to five minutes per point, three to seven times a week for three to four weeks, with HT7 the most common point [9]. A dialysis trial pressed K1, ST36 and SP6 for three minutes on each side, three times a week for four weeks [12]. A period-pain trial pressed SP6 for ten minutes a day on the first three days of each period for three months [17]. A surgery trial used a P6 wristband for 24 hours after an operation [18]. These are trial protocols, not recommendations.

Safety and interactions

Side effects were usually minor. Trials of P6 stimulation reported skin irritation, redness, blistering and pain [19]. Auricular trials reported skin allergy in 3.9%, bruising in 2.7% and pressure sores in 0.8% of people [2]. A 2025 network review judged the evidence on side effects very uncertain [1]. No serious complications were reported in that review [1]. No upper limit or toxic dose applies. The sources read did not report interactions with medicines. In pregnancy, only one of the nausea trials reported minimal side effects [8]. The sources read did not include safety data for breastfeeding, and did not list points to avoid in pregnancy. The sources read did not report results for people with bleeding disorders or kidney disease.

Caveats and open questions

Most trials are small and cannot blind people well, so sham-controlled results may be inflated by expectation [9]. Results differ across reviews, especially for sleep: some report a clear benefit and others little advantage over sham [10][11]. Several pooled results show high heterogeneity [20][21]. The authors of the ovarian cancer trial disclose interests in acupressure apps and devices [3].