Effectiveness of traditional Chinese "gua sha" therapy in patients with chronic neck pain: a randomized controlled trial.
Pain Med
; 12(3): 362-9, 2011 Mar.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-21276190
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
Gua sha is a traditional East Asian healing technique where the body surface is press-stroked with a smooth-edged instrument to intentionally raise therapeutic petechiae. A traditional indication of Gua sha is neck pain; no data from controlled trials exist to support this claim. The researchers aimed to investigate the effectiveness of Gua sha in the symptomatic treatment of chronic neck pain.DESIGN:
The study was designed as an open randomized controlled clinical trial.SETTING:
The study was set in Kliniken Essen-Mitte, Academic Teaching Hospital of the University Duisburg-Essen, Germany.SUBJECTS:
Forty-eight outpatients (58.5±8.0 years; 41 female) with chronic mechanical neck pain were the subjects of the study. INTERVENTION Patients were randomized into Gua sha (N=24) or control groups (N=24) and followed up for 7 days. Gua sha patients were treated once with Gua sha, while control patients were treated with a local thermal heat pad. OUTCOMEMEASURES:
Primary outcome was change of neck pain severity after 1 week as assessed by visual analog scale. Secondary outcomes included pain at motion, the neck disability index (NDI) and quality-of-life (Short-Form [36] Health Survey).RESULTS:
Neck pain severity after 1 week improved significantly better in the Gua sha group compared with the control group (group difference -29.9 mm, 95% confidence interval -43.3; -16.6 mm; P<0.001). Significant treatment effects were also found for pain at motion, scores on the NDI, and dimensions of quality-of-life. The treatment was safe and well tolerated.CONCLUSION:
Gua sha has beneficial short-term effects on pain and functional status in patients with chronic neck pain. The value of Gua sha in the long-term management of neck pain and related mechanisms remains to be clarified.
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Modalidades de Fisioterapia
/
Cervicalgia
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Medicina Tradicional Chinesa
Tipo de estudo:
Clinical_trials
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Diagnostic_studies
Limite:
Adult
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Female
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Humans
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Male
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Middle aged
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2011
Tipo de documento:
Article