Intervention: Acupressure treatments
As has been done in prior work,12,13 participants lay face up
on a massage table during treatment sessions, fully clothed
with shoes removed, as is common practice for acupressure
treatments.25,26 Prior to treatment initiation, participants
lay quietly for 5 min, after which the PSM-9 was administered.
An acupressure practitioner with over 20 years of
clinical and educational experience and appropriate certifi-
cation administered treatments (active or placebo). During
treatment, the practitioner applied pressure with her fingertips
to acupoints, in sequence (for detail, see Ref. 12).
The entire treatment, itself, lasted 40 min. The placebo control
procedure was designed to be indistinguishable from
the active treatment session, to last the same duration, and
contain the same amount of physical contact, with pressure
applied to sham points rather than acupoints. To guarantee
matching practitioner/participant interactions for both
treatment types, only scripted dialogue was used and was
minimal at that. A research assistant seated behind a curtain
was present to monitor this interaction and data collection.
After the treatment, participants completed the PSM-9 and
rested for 5 min.