Sujok as an alternative therapy to reduce dyspnea in patients with respiratory problems

Abstract

The management of dyspnea has received little attention as compared to other potentially severe symptoms of the disease, such as acute and chronic pain. The previous case reports indicated that Sujok therapy can alleviate dyspnea in a short time. This study aimed to determine whether Sujok therapy could reduce dyspnea symptoms in patients with oxygen saturation of less than 96%. Sujok originated from the Korean language, which consisted of the words Su and Jok, denoting hand and foot, respectively. Sujok therapy involves manipulating the hands or feet through massaging, coloring, or attaching seeds, magnets, or needles. This quasi-experimental study involved 34 males and 26 females with oxygen saturation of < 96% and experienced dyspnea with a grade of more than 2 on the Likert scale (1 – 5). Respondents were divided into an intervention group (IG) (n = 30) and a control group (CG) (n = 30), where IG was given the Sujok therapy. Measurements were taken for both groups at 0, 5, 15, and 30 min. The study reported mean ages of 55.6 ± 13.49 and 60.63 ± 9.26 in CG and IG, respectively. The increase in oxygen saturation was statistically significant in the overall measurement time in IG (P < 0.01). After 30 min, the average grade of dyspnea was 3 (moderate) for CG and 2 (mild) for IG. In CG, dyspnea decreased significantly at 30 min by 0.185 (P = 0.001; P < 0.05), whereas in IG, dyspnea decreased significantly at 5 min by 0.649 (P < 0.01). In conclusion, Sujok therapy can increase oxygen saturation and reduce the dyspnea grade in patients with respiratory problems.