Newport, R.I., July 25, 2012 - Migraine can be a disabling neurological disorder, often aggravated by accompanying nausea. Stimulation of the acupoint PC6 Neiguan, an approach to controlling nausea adopted by traditional Chinese medicine, has never been documented by published clinical studies in medical literature for the control of migraine-related nausea, until now. Published in the May 2012 Neurological Sciences (journal of the Italian Neurological Society)*, "Acupressure in the control of migraine-associated nausea" is a clinical trial demonstrating that continuous stimulation of the acupoint PC6 Neiguan on the inner wrist, as provided by Sea-Band® wristbands, showed statistically significant improvement in migraine-related nausea versus not using the wristbands.
Previous studies have demonstrated the efficacy of Sea-Band and its continual stimulation of the acupressure point PC6 for nausea relief due to motion sickness, postoperative nausea and chemotherapy-induced nausea. However, this May 2012 study is the first published research aimed at verifying that pressure applied to the acupoint PC6 with Sea-Band is effective at relieving nausea during migraine.
Migraine affects more than 29.5 million Americans, according to the National Headache Foundation, and is considered by the World Health Organization as the 19th leading cause of all years lived with disability for both males and females. Eight out of every 10 people in the U.S. who are diagnosed with migraine report experiencing nausea.
"This new research supports what millions of Sea-Band users already know; that the acupressure wristbands provide fast, consistent, drug-free relief for nausea associated with migraine headaches," commented Leonard Nihan, president, Sea-Band U.S. "We're pleased to have this published study to reinforce Sea-Band's efficacy to the scientific and medical communities."
The Italian study included 40 female patients suffering from migraine without aura, if nausea was always present as an accompanying symptomatology of their migraine. The patients were treated randomly for a total of six migraine attacks: three with the application of Sea-Band wristbands, which applies continual pressure to the PC6 acupoint (phase SB), and three without it (phase C).
The intensities of nausea at the onset at 30, 60, 120 and 240 minutes were evaluated on a scale from zero to 10. The values were always significantly lower in phase SB than in phase C. Also the number of patients who reported at least a 50 percent reduction in the nausea score was significantly higher in phase SB than in phase C at 30, 60 and 120 minutes. The average nausea scores dropped in the SB phase from 6.36 ± 0.35 in T0, to 4.60 ± 0.39 in T1, to 3.11 ± 0.40 in T2, to 1.88 ± 0.31 in T3 and to 0.92 ± 0.22 in T4. At each time step taken into consideration after the application of the Sea-Band wristbands, there was a statistically significant improvement over the non-treated phases. Moreover, there were a high percentage of responders to the treatment: i.e. 46.8 percent at 60 minutes; 71.8 percent at 120 minutes; 84.3 percent at 240 minutes with a consistent response over time.
About Sea-Band Acupressure Wristbands
Approved by the FDA, Sea-Band acupressure wristbands are a leading drug-free remedy for nausea caused by morning sickness, motion sickness, chemotherapy and post-operative nausea. They have also been proven to relieve migraine-related nausea. The healing principle behind Sea-Band acupressure wristbands is the ancient Chinese art of acupressure, exerting constant pressure on the PC6 (or Neiguan) acupressure point on the inner wrist. The gentle, continuous stimulation causes the nervous system to release chemicals that help trigger the body's natural healing abilities and control nausea, according to numerous scientific/medical journals. Clinically tested, Sea-Bands work within five minutes after being applied. They can be worn prior to or at the onset of nausea and for as long as needed. Learn more at www.Sea-Band.com or www.Facebook.com/seaband.
*Neurol Sci (2012) 33 (Suppl 1):S207-S210; DOI 10.1007/s10072-012-1069-y; Gianni Allais, Sara Rolando, Ilaria Castagnoli Gabellari, Chiara Burzio, Gisella Airola, Paola Borgogno, Paola Schiapparelli, Rita Allais and Chiara Benedetto. Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Women's Headache Center, University of Turin, Turin, Italy. Published in Neurological Sciences, ISSN 1590 – 1872, 5/20/2012, vol 33, suppl 1:207-10.
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Neurological Sciences