Cláudia Maria Sousa1, Daniela Coimbra2, Jorge Machado3, Henry J Greten3,4,5. 1. Institute of Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar, University of Porto, 4099-030 Porto, Portugal; E-mail: claudia.sousa@ua.pt. 2. Porto Polytechnic Institute, Superior School of Music and PerformingArts, 4000-035 Porto, Portugal. 3. Institute of Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar, University of Porto, 4099-030 Porto, Portugal. 4. German Society of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 69126 Heidelberg, Germany. 5. Heidelberg School of Chinese Medicine, 69126 Heidelberg, Germany.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Musicians are frequently affected by playing-related musculoskeletal disorders (PRMD). Common solutions used by Western medicine to treat musculoskeletal pain include rehabilitation programs and drugs, but their results are sometimes disappointing. OBJECTIVE: To study the effects of self-administered exercises based on Tuina techniques on the pain intensity caused by PRMD of professional orchestra musicians, using numeric visual scale (NVS). DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS AND INTERVENTIONS: We performed a prospective, controlled, single-blinded, randomized study with musicians suffering from PRMD. Participating musicians were randomly distributed into the experimental (n=39) and the control (n=30) groups. After an individual diagnostic assessment, specific Tuina self-administered exercises were developed and taught to the participants. Musicians were instructed to repeat the exercises every day for 3 weeks. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Pain intensity was measured by NVS before the intervention and after 1, 3, 5, 10, 15 and 20 d of treatment. The procedure was the same for the control group, however the Tuina exercises were executed in points away from the commonly-used acupuncture points. RESULTS: In the treatment group, but not the control group, pain intensity was significantly reduced on days 1, 3, 5, 10, 15 and 20. CONCLUSION: The results obtained are consistent with the hypothesis that self-administered exercises based on Tuina techniques could help professional musicians controlling the pain caused by PRMD. Although our results are very promising, further studies are needed employing a larger sample size and double blinding designs.
RCT Entities:
BACKGROUND: Musicians are frequently affected by playing-related musculoskeletal disorders (PRMD). Common solutions used by Western medicine to treat musculoskeletal pain include rehabilitation programs and drugs, but their results are sometimes disappointing. OBJECTIVE: To study the effects of self-administered exercises based on Tuina techniques on the pain intensity caused by PRMD of professional orchestra musicians, using numeric visual scale (NVS). DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS AND INTERVENTIONS: We performed a prospective, controlled, single-blinded, randomized study with musicians suffering from PRMD. Participating musicians were randomly distributed into the experimental (n=39) and the control (n=30) groups. After an individual diagnostic assessment, specific Tuina self-administered exercises were developed and taught to the participants. Musicians were instructed to repeat the exercises every day for 3 weeks. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Pain intensity was measured by NVS before the intervention and after 1, 3, 5, 10, 15 and 20 d of treatment. The procedure was the same for the control group, however the Tuina exercises were executed in points away from the commonly-used acupuncture points. RESULTS: In the treatment group, but not the control group, pain intensity was significantly reduced on days 1, 3, 5, 10, 15 and 20. CONCLUSION: The results obtained are consistent with the hypothesis that self-administered exercises based on Tuina techniques could help professional musicians controlling the pain caused by PRMD. Although our results are very promising, further studies are needed employing a larger sample size and double blinding designs.
Authors: Gabriele Rotter; Katharina Noeres; Isabel Fernholz; Stefan N Willich; Alexander Schmidt; Anne Berghöfer Journal: Int Arch Occup Environ Health Date: 2019-09-03 Impact factor: 3.015