• Eun Jin Lee, Jeong Hwan Noh, Eun Kyung Kim, and Cheong Ah Lee.
• Department of Nursing, Inha University, Incheon, Republic of Korea.
• Pain Manag Nurs. 2023 Aug 1; 24 (4): e46e51e46-e51.

BackgroundIn sports, hip flexibility is essential to reduce injuries and improve performance.AimThis study aimed to examine the effects of auricular acupressure on hip flexibility and pain in Taekwondo participants.MethodThis randomized controlled trial was performed in the Republic of Korea from January 2021 to August 2021. The Numeric Rating Scale for Pain and Hip Flexibility was used. Twenty-one participants received auricular pressure once weekly for six weeks, while 17 participants did not receive any intervention. Auricular acupressure was applied to the hip (AH13), Shinmun, and auricular acupressure points associated with the pain areas reported by the participants.ResultsAuricular acupressure improved hip flexibility (t = 2.67, p = .011) and back pain (t = 2.11, p = .043). The mean difference in post-pretest hip flexibility in the experimental group was 16.24 degrees (±13.63), whereas that in the control group was 4.77 degrees (±15.07). The mean difference in the experimental group's pre-post-test scores of back pain was 1.24 (±2.64), whereas that in the control group was 0.18 (±1.41).ConclusionsThe results of this study showed that auricular acupressure could be used to treat pain and improve hip flexibility.Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier Inc.

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