Page 87 - ITPS-7-2

INNOSC Theranostics

and Pharmacological Sciences

ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE
Sujok as an alternative therapy to reduce

dyspnea in patients with respiratory problems

Intansari Nurjannah*, Zakiah Novianti, Agus Suharto, Muhammad Yasir
Sudarmo, and Ki Hariyadi
Department of Mental Health and Community Nursing, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and
Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

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
*Corresponding author:
Intansari Nurjannah IG, respectively. The increase in oxygen saturation was statistically significant in the
(intansarin@ugm.ac.id) overall measurement time in IG (P < 0.01). After 30 min, the average grade of dyspnea
Citation: Nurjannah I, Novianti Z, was 3 (moderate) for CG and 2 (mild) for IG. In CG, dyspnea decreased significantly at
Suharto A, Sudarmo MY, Hariyadi 30 min by 0.185 (P = 0.001; P < 0.05), whereas in IG, dyspnea decreased significantly at
K. Sujok as an alternative therapy 5 min by 0.649 (P < 0.01). In conclusion, Sujok therapy can increase oxygen saturation
to reduce dyspnea in patients with
respiratory problems. INNOSC and reduce the dyspnea grade in patients with respiratory problems.
Theranostics and Pharmacological
Sciences. 2024;7(2):1418.
doi: 10.36922/itps.1418 Keywords: Sujok therapy; Dyspnea; Respiratory problem
Received: July 30, 2023
Accepted: November 30, 2023
Published Online: February 28, 2024 1. Introduction
Copyright: © 2024 Author(s). Dyspnea is a complex symptomatic condition and is influenced by several factors,
This is an Open-Access article such as environmental, physiological, and psychological factors, inclusive of previous
1
distributed under the terms of the 2 3
Creative Commons Attribution experiences, emotions, beliefs, values, and diseases. According to the American
License, permitting distribution, Thoracic Society, dyspnea is defined as a subjective experience associated with discomfort
and reproduction in any medium, in breathing that causes qualitatively different sensations with varying intensities. There
1
provided the original work is
properly cited. are different dyspneic sensations, such as tachypnea, rapid breathing, increased work of
breathing, chest tightness, and air hunger. 2
Publisher’s Note: AccScience
Publishing remains neutral with Dyspnea is commonly caused by heart and lung diseases, such as pneumonia,
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, heart failure, and coronary
affiliations. heart disease, which account for up to 85% of dyspnea cases. Other common causes
4
3
Volume 7 Issue 2 (2024) 1 doi: 10.36922/itps.1418