Kurç, Doğukan, Şakul, Ayşe Arzu Sayin, Atilgan, Esra · Explore (New York, N.Y.) · 2025 · DOI
This study tested whether acupressure—a technique where pressure is applied to specific points on the body—could help reduce fatigue in people with ME/CFS who work in offices. Thirty-nine people received either 10 acupressure sessions over 4 weeks or no treatment. Those who received acupressure reported significantly less fatigue, better mood, and improved quality of life compared to those who received no treatment.
ME/CFS patients often have limited treatment options, and this study suggests acupressure may offer an accessible, low-cost complementary approach to symptom management. Understanding non-pharmacological interventions is important for patients seeking alternatives or adjuncts to standard care and for building a more comprehensive treatment toolkit.
This study does not prove acupressure is a cure for ME/CFS or explain the biological mechanism behind any benefit. The lack of a sham control group means some improvement could be due to placebo effect or attention rather than acupressure itself. The short 4-week treatment period and lack of long-term follow-up mean we cannot determine whether benefits persist after treatment ends.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Kurç, Doğukan, Şakul, Ayşe Arzu Sayin, & Atilgan, Esra (2025). "The effect of acupressure on fatigue in individuals with chronic fatigue syndrome".. Explore (New York, N.Y.). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.explore.2025.103231
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-kur-2025-effect-acupressure,
author = {Kurç, Doğukan and Şakul, Ayşe Arzu Sayin and Atilgan, Esra},
title = {"The effect of acupressure on fatigue in individuals with chronic fatigue syndrome".},
journal = {Explore (New York, N.Y.)},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.1016/j.explore.2025.103231},
note = {PubMed: 40749563},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/kur-2025-effect-acupressure},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/kur-2025-effect-acupressure
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