LIU Jihui, WANG Liwei, DENG Jianhua. Nursing Report on Improving Lower Limb Spasms in a Patient with Maintenance Hemodialysis Using Auricular Point Pressing with Beans[DB/OL].Clinical Archives of Integrative Medicine, 2026.
DOI:
LIU Jihui, WANG Liwei, DENG Jianhua. Nursing Report on Improving Lower Limb Spasms in a Patient with Maintenance Hemodialysis Using Auricular Point Pressing with Beans[DB/OL].Clinical Archives of Integrative Medicine, 2026. DOI: 10.12209/CAIM202511040001.
Nursing Report on Improving Lower Limb Spasms in a Patient with Maintenance Hemodialysis Using Auricular Point Pressing with Beans
This paper reports a 72-year-old male patient with diabetic nephropathy (Chronic Kidney Disease Stage 5, CKD Stage 5) undergoing Maintenance Hemodialysis (MHD). The patient experienced frequent lower limb spasms (5-7 times/week) with moderate to severe pain (Visual Analogue Scale, VAS score 5-7), which severely affected his quality of life. Conventional interventions such as calcium supplementation and stretching showed limited efficacy. Based on the TCM syndrome differentiation of liver-kidney yin deficiency and malnutrition of tendons and vessels, auricular point pressing therapy was administered (selecting points such as Shenmen, Subcortex, Liver, and Kidney) in combination with basic treatment. The patient was instructed to self-press the Vaccaria seeds 3-4 times daily, 1-2 minutes per point each time, until a local sensation of soreness, numbness, distension, or pain was felt. After 2 weeks of intervention, the frequency of lower limb spasms decreased to 1 time/week, the VAS score reduced to 2-3 (mild pain), and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) improved from 12 to 5. Both lower limb spasm pain and sleep quality were significantly relieved. The results indicate that auricular point pressing, as a safe and convenient non-pharmacological intervention, can effectively reduce the frequency and pain intensity of lower limb spasms in MHD patients, improve quality of life, and provide a new TCM characteristic nursing option for managing this complication.
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