[The effects of meridian massage on menopausal symptoms and Shin-Hur in middle-aged menopausal women].

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of meridian massage on menopausal symptoms and Shin-Hur in middle-aged menopausal women.

Method: The research design was a nonequivalent control group pre-post experimental design. The subjects of the study were middle-aged women who had had no menstruation in the last 12 months after the last menstrual bleeding. Cards of invitation on bulletin boards of several apartments were placed to recruit the subjects. The cards of invitation included: purpose of the study, eligibility criteria, method and period. Eighteen women in the experimental group and 16 women in the control group were conveniently assigned, respectively. The experimental group received 20 min meridian massage 3 times per week for 4 weeks. The menopausal symptoms and Shin-Hur were measured and compared between the two groups before and after the intervention. Data were analyzed with the SPSS program by Fisher's exact test, Wilcoxon Sign Rank test, Mann Whitney U-test and Spearman's rank correlation.

Result: The experimental group showed a significant decrease of menopausal symptoms (U=77.00, p=.020) and Shin-Hur (U=76.00, p=.017). There was a significantly positive correlation between menopausal symptoms and Shin-Hur (r=.497, p=.003).

Conclusion: Meridian massage was effective in improving menopausal symptoms and Shin-Hur in middle-aged menopausal women. Thus it can be useful as a nursing intervention for menopausal women.