Thai massage using squeezed technique could relieve pain and stiff neck in neck strain patients

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Kallaya Panngooluem
Wichai Eungpinichpongb

Abstract

To verify the immediate and short-term effects of a modified traditional Thai massage (TTM) that uses a squeeze technique on the cervical range of motion (CROM), muscle pain intensity, pressure pain threshold (PPT), and muscle tension in patients with neck strain, a sample of 60 patients who had neck strain were randomly allocated to either a traditional Thai massage group that uses this squeeze technique once a day or a control group taking ibuprofen and rest for the same period. Outcomes such as CROM, pain intensity, PPT, and tissue hardness were assessed at baseline and immediately after the first treatment session. Daily follow-up over telephone on pain intensity was also conducted for three days. The TTM group showed significant improvements in their conditions after the treatment in comparison with the corresponding baselines of the other group (p< 0.01). The inter-group differences were 7.5 (95% CI 4.6-10.4) in flexion, 7.8 (95% CI 4.0-11.7) in extension, 8.1 (95% CI 3.45-12.7) in right rotation, 10.2 (95% CI 5.6-14.6) in left rotation, 7.0 (95% CI 4.6-9.4) in right lateral flexion, 5.8 (95% CI 3.1 to 8.6) in left lateral flexion, 0.7 (95% CI 0.3-1.1) in PPT, -7.2 (95% CI -11.1-3.3) in tissue hardness, -2.2 (95% CI -3.0-1.4) in the visual analog scale (VAS). The three-day follow-ups revealed that the pain intensity was assessed for each group and in inter-group comparison (p< 0.01). These results suggest that the TTM using the squeeze technique could increase the CROM and the PPT and decrease the pain intensity and tissue hardness in patients with neck strain.

Article Details

How to Cite
Panngooluem , K., & Eungpinichpongb, W. (2022). Thai massage using squeezed technique could relieve pain and stiff neck in neck strain patients. Asia-Pacific Journal of Science and Technology, 27(04), APST–27. https://doi.org/10.14456/apst.2022.61
Section
Research Articles

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