Acupressure reduces the severity of restless legs syndrome in hemodialysis patients: A cluster-randomized crossover pilot study

Background: Restless legs syndrome (RLS), a neurological disorder, often affects sleep quality in hemodialysis patients. This study aimed to evaluate acupressure's effect on the severity of RLS symptoms and sleep quality in hemodialysis patients with RLS. Methods: This study is a cluster-randomized crossover pilot study. Patients were randomized to two sequences: acupressure for one month and observation for another month (AC); and observation for one month and acupressure for another month (CA). For the four-week acupressure intervention, patients received 36 min of acupressure three times weekly during their hemodialysis sessions. The acupoints were on the bilateral lower limbs, including Zusanli (ST36), Yanglingquan (GB34), Sanyinjiao (SP6), Xuanzhong (GB39), Chengshan (BL57), and Taichong (LR3). RLS severity and sleep quality (measured with the Pittsburgh sleep quality index, PSQI) were measured at baseline, month 1, and month 2. Results: AC sequence (n = 14) was similar to the CA sequence (n = 9) in terms of gender, age, education, employment, marital status, comorbid disease, BMI, duration of dialysis, medication for RLS and insomnia, RLS severity, and PSQI. The general linear mixed model revealed no significant carryover effect on RLS severity, PSQI, and the seven subscales of PSQI. A significant treatment effect (acupressure) was only observed in RLS severity (p = 0.0013) but not in PSQI and the seven subscales. The significant period effect was observed in RLS severity (p = 0.0250) and the subscale of sleep disturbance (p = 0.0021). Conclusion: In hemodialysis patients with RLS, acupressure can alleviate the severity of RLS but cannot improve sleep quality.