Effects of self-administered exercises based on Tuina techniques on musculoskeletal disorders of professional orchestra musicians: a randomized controlled trial.
Author: Sousa CM1, Coimbra D2, Machado J3, Greten HJ3,4,5.
Affiliation:
1Institute of Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar, University of Porto, 4099-030 Porto, Portugal; E-mail: claudia.sousa@ua.pt. 2Porto Polytechnic Institute, Superior School of Music and PerformingArts, 4000-035 Porto, Portugal. 3Institute of Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar, University of Porto, 4099-030 Porto, Portugal. 4German Society of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 69126 Heidelberg, Germany. 5Heidelberg School of Chinese Medicine, 69126 Heidelberg, Germany.
Conference/Journal: J Integr Med.
Date published: 2015 Sep
Other:
Volume ID: 13 , Issue ID: 5 , Pages: 314-8 , Special Notes: doi: 10.1016/S2095-4964(15)60194-7 , Word Count: 224
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.
PMID: 26343102
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