International Journal of Nursing Research

Objective To explore the application effect of wrist and ankle acupuncture combined with traditional Chinese dietary therapy in the rehabilitation of patients after general thoracic surgery. Methods A total of 110 patients after general thoracic surgery admitted to our hospital from January 2023 to January 2025 were selected for the study. They were divided into the control group and the observation group according to different intervention methods, with 55 cases in each group. The control group received conventional postoperative nursing intervention, while the observation group was treated with wrist-ankle acupuncture combined with traditional Chinese dietary therapy on the basis of the control group. The postoperative pain degree, recovery time of gastrointestinal function, length of hospital stay and occurrence of complications of the two groups were compared. Results The pain scores of the observation group at different time points after the operation were lower than those of the control group. The recovery time of gastrointestinal function and the length of hospital stay in the observation group were shorter than those in the control group, and the incidence of complications was lower than that in the control group (P<0.05). Conclusion In the rehabilitation process of patients after general thoracic surgery, the application of wrist and ankle acupuncture combined with traditional Chinese dietary therapy intervention can effectively alleviate patients' pain and promote the recovery of gastrointestinal function.

Wrist and ankle needle; Traditional Chinese dietary therapy; General thoracic surgery; Postoperative rehabilitation; Application effect