Robertshawe, P. (2008). Cancer-related fatigue managed with acupuncture and acupressure. Journal of the Australian Traditional-Medicine Society, 14, 229–229.

To determine whether a larger trial using acupuncture and acupressure therapies would be feasible.

Patients were randomized into three groups. The acupuncture group received three 20-minute sessions per week for two weeks using the same points. The acupressure group was taught self-treatment techniques for the same points. Pressure was held for one minute every day for two weeks. The sham group was taught to hold pressure on three points not related to energy for one minute each day for two weeks.

• Mean age was 54 years.
• Patients were reported as being “predominantly female.” 
• Patients were at least one month from completing chemotherapy and reported a fatigue score of at least 5 on a 0-to-10 scale.

Not reported

The study was a randomized, controlled trial.

• Patients completed the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI) before randomization, at the completion of treatment, and two weeks after.
• Patients in the acupressure and sham groups also filled out a diary reporting whether they had applied pressure to the points each day.

Improvements were noted in fatigue scores in the acupuncture and acupressure groups in general fatigue, physical fatigue, reduced activity, and motivation. The sham group showed no significant improvements.

The use of acupuncture may be helpful for fatigue. Because such little data was provided, it is difficult for readers to make this same conclusion. The report of significant improvements was not cited with statistical methodologies. A larger, multicenter trial is needed.

• The study examined a small, homogenous population with limited data collection.
• The results were poorly reported.
• The implementation of these two treatments in practice may be difficult for smaller institutions.