| ObjectiveIn order to evaluate the effect of TaiChi Tuina on the improvement of neck pain symptoms,cervical spine function,physical properties of neck muscles and daily life function in patients with chronic non-specific neck pain,and to analyze the correlation between muscle tension,stiffness,elasticity and Visual Analogue Scale(VAS)and Northwick Park neck pain Scale(NPQ),TaiChi Tuina was used to treat patients with chronic non-specific neck pain.The Visual Analogue Scale(VAS),Northwick Park neck pain Scale(NPQ),cervical range of motion,and muscle tension,stiffness,elasticity were compared before treatment,after 1 week,and after 2 weeks.MethodsFrom October 2019 to December 2019,30 patients with chronic non-specific neck pain,who were treated at the clinic of Department of Tuina/Rehabilitation of Hubei Provincial Hospital of TCM,were selected and included according to the diagnostic criteria and inclusion criteria of chronic nonspecific neck pain(CNSNP).TaiChi Tuina was performed in the occipital,neck and shoulder region or scapular region for five times a week and 30 min each time,for 2 consecutive weeks,a total of 10 times.The changes of VAS score,NPQ score,cervical range of motion,F value,S value and D value of bilateral sternocleidomastoid muscle and superior trapezius muscle were recorded before treatment,1 week and 2 weeks after treatment.Record the data loss and adverse events during the treatment with TaiChi Tuina.Results1.Basic information analysis of included cases: A total of 30 patients were included in this study,4 of whom discontinued,and the other 26 patients completed the trial.Gender composition: There were 18 females and 8 males,accounting for 69.23% and 30.77%,respectively,indicating that there were more women suffering from chronic non-specific neck pain.Age distribution: ≤ 20 years old,no case;20-30 years old,12 cases,accounting for 46.15%;30-40 years old,9 cases,accounting for 34.62%;40-50 years old,1 case,accounting for 3.85%;50-60 years old,4 cases,accounting for 15.38%.It was suggested that the population under the age of 40 was the main group suffering from chronic non-specific neck pain,accounting for up to 80.77%.Course distribution: <1 year,1 case,accounting for 3.85%;1-5 years,17 cases,accounting for 65.38%;5-10 years,6 cases,accounting for 23.08%;≥10 years,2 cases,accounting for 7.69%,which indicated that majority of patients with a course of 1-5 years,accounting for up to 65.38%.Distribution of the affected side: 21 cases on both sides,accounting for 80.77%,2 cases on the left,and 3 cases on the right,accounting for 7.69% and 11.54%,respectively。These results indicated that most patients with chronic nonspecific neck pain were bilaterally affected.2.Statistical analysis during and after treatment:(1)VAS score: Compared with before treatment,the VAS score was significantly reduced after treatment(P<0.01),which indicated that the neck pain symptoms of patients were significantly relieved in the short term after treatment with TaiChi Tuina.(2)NPQ score: Compared with before treatment,the NPQ score was significantly reduced after treatment(P<0.01),indicating that the daily life function of patients was significantly improved after treatment with TaiChi Tuina.(3)Cervical range of motion: Compared with before treatment,TaiChi Tuina can significantly improve the activity of cervical spine in patients with chronic non-specific neck pain(P<0.01).(4)The physical properties of muscles: Compared with before treatment,the muscle tension,stiffness and elasticity of bilateral sternocleidomastoid muscles and superior trapezius muscles were significantly improved(P<0.01),suggesting that TaiChi Tuina can effectively reduce the neck muscle tension and stiffness of patients,and improve the muscle elasticity.3.Correlation analysis:(1)F value and VAS score: The VAS score had no correlation with the F value of the bilateral sternocleidomastoid muscle,but had a significant positive correlation with the F value of the bilateral superior trapezius(left: r=0.837;right: r=0.862),suggesting that neck pain was related to high tension of bilateral superior trapezius muscles.(2)S value and VAS score: The VAS score had no correlation with the S value of the bilateral sternocleidomastoid muscle,but had a significant positive correlation with the F value of the bilateral superior trapezius(left: r=0.821;right: r=0.817),indicating that neck pain was related to high stiffness of bilateral superior trapezius muscles.(3)D value and VAS score: The VAS score had no correlation with the D value of the bilateral sternocleidomastoid muscle,but had a positive correlation with the F value of the bilateral superior trapezius(left: r=0.80;right: r=0.526),indicating that neck pain was related to lower elasticity of bilateral superior trapezius muscles.(4)F value and NPQ score: The F value of bilateral sternocleidomastoid muscle was weakly positively correlated with NPQ score(left: r=0.583;right: r=0.397);the F value of left upper trapezius muscle was positively correlated with NPQ score(r=0.654).It was suggested that the increase of bilateral sternocleidomastoid muscle tension may affect patients’ daily life function.(5)S value and NPQ score: The positive correlation between S value of bilateral sternocleidomastoid muscle and NPQ score was weak(left: r= 0.654;right = 0.406);S value of bilateral superior trapezius muscle had no correlation with NPQ score.It was indicated that the increased stiffness of bilateral sternocleidomastoid muscle may affect patients’ daily life function.(6)D value and NPQ score: The D values of bilateral sternocleidomastoid muscle and superior trapezius muscle were not related to the NPQ score,which suggested that it is unclear in this study whether the lower elasticity of the sternocleidomastoid and upper trapezius muscles affects patients’ daily life function.Conclusions1.The effect of the treatment of TaiChi Tuina is significant for the patient with chronic non-specific neck pain,which improves the symptoms of neck pain,cervical function and daily life function of the patients,and makes the tension,stiffness and elasticity of bilateral sternocleidomastoid muscles and superior trapezius muscles better.2.The tension,stiffness and elasticity of the bilateral upper trapezius muscles in patients with chronic nonspecific neck pain are positively correlated with neck pain symptoms(VAS score);while the tension,stiffness and elasticity of the bilateral sternocleidomastoid muscles are positively correlated with daily activity function(NPQ score);3.MyotonPRO digital muscle function assessment system can objectively reflect the changes of physical properties of neck muscles,which can be used as a quantitative evaluation method and is worth popularizing. |
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