Auricular Acupressure on Breast Pain Among Breastfeeding Mothers Receiving Gentle Hand Techniques: A Randomized, Single-Blind, Sham-Controlled Trial.

This article focuses on a placebo-controlled randomized trial investigating the effectiveness of auricular acupressure—a complementary therapy involving pressure on specific ear points—on breast pain among breastfeeding mothers who also received a standard gentle hand massage. The study involved 52 breastfeeding mothers in South Korea, with auricular acupressure applied to ear points related to breast pain and lactation in the intervention group, and to unrelated points in the placebo control group, over four weeks. While subjective pain scores measured by a numeric rating scale decreased similarly in both groups, objective measurements using a pressure algometer showed a significant increase in pressure pain thresholds in specific areas of the right breast in the intervention group. The findings suggest auricular acupressure may be a safe and potentially effective nursing intervention to alleviate breast pain during lactation, though further research is needed to optimize treatment duration, frequency, and to assess long-term effects.