Acupressure for Fatigue in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Summary

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a complex autoimmune disease characterized by involvement of multiple organs with a female to male ratio of 12:1 with the highest incidence reported in women of child bearing age (15-44 years). In general, advances in diagnosis and management have led to significant improvements in outcomes. However, fatigue remains a challenging and prevalent issue for SLE patients.

The investigators aim to determine the feasibility of recruiting and conducting acupressure in fatigued persons with lupus; to explore the effect of two distinct acupressure formulas (relaxing and stimulating) plus usual care versus sham acupressure plus usual care and usual care alone on severity and impact of chronic fatigue (as measured by the Brief Fatigue Inventory) as well as quality of life, sleep and pain.

Conditions

• Fatigue
• Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic
• Pain, Chronic
• Quality of Life
• Sleep

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Relaxing acupressure plus usual care

Experimental group. Self-administered acupressure is one possible safe, self-management technique for which may be effective for improving fatigue as well as physical and psychosocial functioning in several chronic disease populations. Acupressure, a technique derived from acupuncture, is a component of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in which pressure is applied to specific acupoints on the body using a finger or small device, to treat disease.

BEHAVIORAL

Usual care

Negative control group. Participants are asked to carry on with their usual management practices and habits.

BEHAVIORAL

Stimulating acupressure plus usual care

Experimental group. Self-administered acupressure is one possible safe, self-management technique for which may be effective for improving fatigue as well as physical and psychosocial functioning in several chronic disease populations. Acupressure, a technique derived from acupuncture, is a component of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in which pressure is applied to specific acupoints on the body using a finger or small device, to treat disease.

BEHAVIORAL

Sham acupressure plus usual care

Positive control group. Chosen pressure points are not known to be effective.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Michigan

  collaborator OTHER

• Suzanna Zick

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Suzanna M Zick, ND, MPH · University of Michigan

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

TRIPLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

FEMALE

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2017-08-14

Primary Completion

2019-07-19

Completion

2019-07-19

Countries

• United States

Study Locations