The DOI matches its Crossref record; 23 of the 24 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Acupuncture and Reflexology for Insomnia: A Feasibility Study
Abstract
Objective: To assess the feasibility of patient recruitment and retention, logistics of intervention and outcome measure sensitivity for a study designed to investigate the use of acupuncture and reflexology for the management of insomnia. Design: Feasibility study for a randomised controlled trial. Setting: University of Ulster Clinic. Patients: Thirteen participants with sleep disturbances. Interventions: Participants were randomised to receive one of three treatments, either: acupuncture (n = 5), reflexology (n = 4) or music therapy (n = 4). These treatments were administered six times over a 3-week period. Main outcome measures: The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and Short Form 36 version 2 (SF-36v2) were recorded at baseline, post-treatment and follow-up. Each participant also completed a Sleep Diary. Results: Ten participants completed treatment. In the acupuncture and reflexology groups, a clinically relevant improvement in two out of three participants was observed on the PSQI following treatment. Music therapy produced no clinically important improvements. This study has demonstrated the feasibility of conducting an RCT on the effect of acupuncture and reflexology in primary insomnia using PSQI as the primary outcome measure. Modifications for a more rigorous study design have been discussed. Results from such a study would address the lack of high-quality evidence for the effectiveness of such therapies.
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“A change of 3.0 is considered a clinically important difference in the PSQI score [30].”
From Online prenatal trial in mindfulness sleep management (OPTIMISM): Protocol for a pilot randomized controlled trial (2020) · cites this paper as [30]
In the citing paper
“Therefore, the effect of exercise on PSQI in favor of the intervention (low-quality evidence) was considered small.”
From Exercise can improve sleep quality: A systematic review and meta-analysis (2018) · cites this paper as Hughes et al., 2009
In the citing paper
“As to sleep quality, a three-point change in PSQI scores is considered indicative of a minimum clinically significant difference. ( 53 ) In this study, PSQI scores dropped by 3.17 points. Therefore, the positive effect of exercise on sleep quality (very low quality of evidence) was thought to be small.”
From Physical exercise as a therapeutic approach for adults with insomnia: Systematic review and meta-analysis (2022) · cites this paper as [53]
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“Participant baseline characteristics were variable. This may be due to the heterogeneity of the insomnia population. Insomnia has been associated with various socio-demographic variables and comorbid conditions.”
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“A change of 3 points is considered to be the minimal clinically important difference (MCID) for the total sleep score of the PSQI (Hughes et al., 2009) and the total sleep score improvement in this study of 3.5 points exceeds this criterion.”
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“[27] Furthermore, improvements in polysomnographic parameters, particularly sleep efficiency, which increases by more than 16.4%, represent clinically meaningful changes that correlate with improvements in subjective sleep quality and demonstrate objective validation of therapeutic effects.”
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Metadata
- Authors
- Hughes, C. M., McCullough, C. A., Bradbury, I., Boyde, C., Hume, D., Yuan, J., Quinn, F., & McDonough, S. M.
- Affiliations
- University of Ulster (GB)
- Health and Rehabilitation Sciences Research Institute, University of Ulster, Ulster, UK
- British Association of Dermatologists (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Hughes, Ciara M
- Venue
- Acupuncture in Medicine
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2009-12
- Volume
- 27
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 163-168
- ISSN
- 0964-5284 (ISSN-L)
- 1759-9873
- OpenAlex
- W2146381169
- Cited by
- 136
- References
- 24
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 16 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 24 · 2022: 18 · 2021: 16 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 4 · 2012: 2
- FWCI
- 3.23
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Acupuncture in Medicine (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- HighWire Press Open Archive (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Complementary and alternative medicine › Acupuncture Treatment Research Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Sleep and related disorders
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Complementary and alternative medicine › Complementary and Alternative Medicine Studies
- Keywords
- acupuncture, reflexology, insomnia, primary insomnia, music therapy, sleep quality, patient recruitment and retention, feasibility, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, SF-36v2, sleep diary
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Combined Modality Therapy, Feasibility Studies, Female, Humans, Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders, Male, Massage, Middle Aged, Music Therapy, Surveys and Questionnaires, Sleep, Reproducibility of Results, Acupuncture Therapy, Treatment Outcome
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