The effect of Hegu point ice massage on pain relief: A review article

Background and Objective: Due to the major side effects of analgesic drugs,a non-pharmaceutical approach in pain management (which can reduce the need for analgesic drugs) has been attended. Traditional and complementary treatments are effective method in pain management. The Hegu is the most important relief pain point in human body,and its stimulation can be used in the whole body painful conditions. The present research aimed to review the evidence in the field of ice massage on the Hegu point and its effects. Method: In order to asses documents about the effects of Hegu point ice massage,14 database in English and Persian language from constitution to June 17,2015 were investigated. Results: After searching scientific databases,192 articles were found. Of this number,82,24,and 15 articles were ruled out after filtering titles,reading abstracts,and reading the entire article body,respectively. A total of 60 joint articles were also excluded. In sum,12 articles met the inclusion criteria for this survey. In the case of one article,only the abstract was read due to unavailability of the full article text. Conclusion: Considering the numerous advantages of Hegu point ice massage,including its safety and costeffectiveness,lack of need for special equipment,easy of teaching,easy of application,lack of side effects,and lack of interference with medical treatments,application of this method would be quite useful in pain management.