Gua Sha massage is a traditional chinese medical treatment. It is mostly used in the treatment of the common cold and pain syndromes. Gua Sha involves pressuring the skin by a round-edged instrument until small petechiae appear. This so called "sha", considered as the removal of blood stasis by traditional practitioners, will fade within a few days. Normally, this treatment is not considered as painful, but as relaxing and easing tense muscles. In this study, the investigators will investigate the effectivity of Gua Sha massage in treating chronic neck pain. The investigators will research effects on subjective pain intensity, neck pain specific disability and haptic perception.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
50
Single Gua Sha treatment of the neck and shoulder region
Single use of a mud heat pad on the neck and shoulder region
Kliniken Essen-Mitte, Knappschafts-Krankenhaus, Department for Internal and Integrative Medicine
Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Neck pain intensity (100mm visual analog scale)
Time frame: Day 4
Neck disability index (NDI)
The Neck Disability Index is an instrument to assess neck pain complaints. Reference: Vernon H, Mior S. The Neck Disability Index: a study of reliability and validity. J Manipulative Physiol Ther 1991;14:409-415.
Time frame: Day 4
Haptic perception
The design consists of two angle legs, of which one angle leg has to be readjusted to a given angle adjustment. This is done by haptic perception without visual feedback. The deviation of the adjusted angle from the locked angle is measured. Reference: Grunwald, M., Ettich, C., Busse, F., Assmann, B., Dähne, A., Gertz, H.-J., (2002): Angle paradigm: A new method to measure right parietal dysfunctions in anorexia nervosa. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology , 17, pp. 485- 496
Time frame: Day 4
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