Athletic Injuries
Conditions
Brief summary
The purpose of this observational study is to investigate the treatment of complaints following sports injuries with Traditional Chinese Medicine by therapists in Switzerland.
Detailed description
In Switzerland, still very little is known about the treatment with TCM (acupuncture, Chinese medicinal therapy, Tuina massage, nutrition, qigong) under everyday conditions. The importance of non-medical therapists in the healthcare system is rarely investigated. It is likely that patients with chronic injuries use several therapies (including conventional medicine) in a pragmatic way. They may apply TCM either due to primary preference or because other forms of therapy fail to produce satisfactory results. There is evidence from randomized controlled trials and systematic reviews that acupuncture can be effective in the treatment of acute and chronic back pain, chronic shoulder pain and ankle sprains. Randomized controlled trials usually investigate a single TCM method, in which therapists or physicians are limited in the selection of acupuncture points or herbal formulas. This does not reflect the complex practice, where several TCM methods and auxiliary techniques are combined. The investigators aim to investigate in a prospective observational study how complaints following sports injuries are treated by non-medical TCM therapists in Switzerland under everyday conditions.
Interventions
OTHERTCM treatment
Sponsors
Sabine Klein
Study design
Observational model
CASE_ONLY
Time perspective
PROSPECTIVE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* 18 years or older * minimum of 3 hours sports per week * complaints following sports injury * first TCM treatment for this complaint
Exclusion criteria
* rheumatic disease * arthrosis * previous TCM treatment for this complaint
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| change in minimal and maximal pain | first treatment, last treatment (max. 3 months) | visual analogue scale (0-10) |
| change in limitation during sports | first treatment, last treatment (max. 3 months) | visual analogue scale (0-10) |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| medication intake | first treatment, last treatment (max. 3 months) | — |
| patient satisfaction with therapy | 6 months | 6 point Likert scale |
| number of therapeutic sessions | 3 months | — |
| TCM methods applied | 3 months | — |
Countries
Switzerland
Outcome results
None listed