| Summary: | 博士 === 慈濟大學 === 醫學科學研究所 === 104 === Chronic neck and shoulder pain (NSP) is musculoskeletal pain typically occurring in middle- and older- aged people. Traditional Chinese medical, treatments include acupuncture, traditional Chinese medicine, acupressure, heat therapy, and cupping therapy. Current literature remains sparse for studies on NSP intensity, skin temperature changes due to cupping therapy. This investigation was divided into two phases.
Part one aimed to investigate the effectiveness of fire cupping therapy (CT) for NSP and changes in skin surface temperature (SST), and blood pressure (BP). A quasi-experimental design consisting of 60 subjects between the ages of 20 - 65 years old with self-perceived NSP was conducted. Pain was measured using the visual analog scale (VAS), SST and BP with p＜0.05 significance.
The neck pain intensity (NPI) and shoulder pain intensity (SPI) in the cupping groups decreased significantly compared to the control group. The SST differences between the groups were statistically significant. BP showed a statistically significant difference in the cupping group, which presented as a decrease in systemic blood pressure (SBP).
Part two of the study aimed to investigate the changes in finger temperature, heart rate variability (HRV), meridian resistance and length of time post intervention for the relief of chronic NSP using fire CT. Participants comprised 48 volunteers with self-perceived NSP. The experimental group underwent CT at the three acupoints on both sides of the body for a total of 20 min. The control group was given hot compression therapy for the neck and shoulder regions for 20 min. Post intervention, the changes in finger temperature, HRV, and meridian resistance were collected. Participants were evaluated over a 5 day period to evaluate efficacy of fire CT.
The results show statistically significant difference in NPI before and after intervention when compared between the two groups. The fire CT group demonstrated greater significant differences than the heating group. The HRV in the cupping group showed decreases in high frequency (HF), some meridians resistance, and increases in finger skin temperature at different time intervals. The heating group demonstrated decreases in lower frequency (LF), HF, some meridians resistance, and increases in finger temperature at different time points. However, there were no significance differences between groups in HRV, meridian resistance and finger temperature.
One treatment of CT is shown to increase both finger temperature and SST. In conjunction with physiological responses, the subjective experience of NSP is reduced pain intensity, which extends up to five days. Further studies are required to improve the understanding and potential long-term effects of CT. Findings from this study suggest that CT is beneficial for relieving pain with no known adverse effects.
|
|---|
