Low Back Pain, Mechanical
Conditions
Keywords
Alternative therapy, Massage, Manual therapy, Myofascial
Brief summary
The Investigators conduct this study to compare two different massage methods with buffalo horn technique: the deep massage and the superficial massage. To explore the effects of the two interventions on low back pain, the investigators evaluated the outcome measurements regarding pain severity and physical functions before and after 6 times of treatment through a 3-week period.
Detailed description
Background: Nonspecific lower back pain is an important global health issue, with high prevalence over the world and causing huge economic loss. This research is a double-blind randomized controlled trial. In this study the investigators introduce a technique derived from traditional Chinese massage using a special tool made from buffalo's horns to perform the massage, so called buffalo horn technique. The tool is like a short rod in about 15-cm length with a cone-like end. During the massage, the therapist presses the cone-like end against the painful region of back. Because the cone-like end has a small contact area with the participant's body surface, it may release deep layer fascia with higher pressure produced by the therapist toward the treatment area. During the intervention of shallow massage, the therapist applies a lower force then that used in the deep massage. Thus it produces a lower pressure on the painful region due to a larger contact surface when pressing the rod end against the body of the participant. Participants are randomly assigned to either deep-massage group (DM) or superficial-massage (SM) group. The participants received two sessions a week for a total six sessions. The outcome measures include the structured questionnaire to investigate the pain-related outcomes and back pain-related disabilities. The investigators also perform the clinical assessments such as range of motion of trunk. All the outcomes are assessed before-intervention (pretest) and after the end of intervention (posttest).
Interventions
OTHERBuffalo horn technique
The participants receive a 30-min massage session, twice a week for a total 6 sessions.
Sponsors
Taipei Medical University WanFang Hospital
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE (Subject, Outcomes Assessor)
Masking description
Since the patient are prone during the low back massage, the patient will not know what treatment they receive, as the two treatments are similar and only different in the pressure force. The primary outcome is assessed by a self-reported questionnaire. The assessor who performs the clinical assessments will be blinded to the treatment assignment.
Intervention model description
The patients are randomly assigned into two treatment arms.
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
FEMALE
Age
20 Years to 65 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
1. Female 2. Non-specific low back pain over 1 months 3. 20-65 years old 4. No experience of massage therapy within 2 months prior to the study inclusion.
Exclusion criteria
1. Pregnancy 2. Back pain associated with systemic disease (autoimmune, infectious, vascular, endocrine, metabolic, or neoplastic disease) 3. Previous spine surgery. 4. Presentation with neurological signs such as radiating pain. 5. .Skin diseases (psoriasis, urticaria, wounds, etc.)
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Visual analogue scale (VAS) for pain severity | 7 weeks | 0-100mm VAS where 0 represents no pain and 100 represents the strongest pain |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Oswestry Disability Index | 7 weeks | Patients rate the severity (from no problem scored 0 to the worst scored 5) on 10 daily activities. Thus the total scores range from 0 to 50. |
| Roland-Morris Low Back Pain Disability Questionnaire | 7 weeks | Participants answer true or false on 24 items that describe the impact of low back pain on daily activity. Thus the total scores range from 0 to 24. |
| Short form of World Health Organization Quality of Life Instrument (WHOQOL-BREF) | 7 weeks | The Chinese version has 28 items covering 4 domains in terms of physical, emotional, social, and environmental. Scores are transformed from 0 to 100 for each domain with higher scores indicating better quality of life. |
| Pain pressure threshold | 3 weeks | Using the pressure algometer to measure the pressure enough to elicit the tenderness, |
| Range of motion (ROM) of the trunk | 3 weeks | ROM of flexion and extension of the back |
Countries
Taiwan
Outcome results
None listed