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Effects of Gua Sha and Thermotherapy on Chronic Neck Pain

CompletedNot applicableNCT01233180
View the official record on ClinicalTrials.gov

Recruiting status changes often. Contact the study team listed on ClinicalTrials.gov, and talk to your doctor before joining a study.

This study has no listed site in Canada in this snapshot. It is included as part of the worldwide chronic pain corpus.

Brief summary (from the registry)

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 details

Official title
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing Gua Sha Massage and Thermotherapy for Chronic Neck Pain: Effects on Pain Intensity, Haptic Perception and Body Image.
Conditions
Interventions
  • Other: Gua Sha
  • Device: Thermotherapy
Sponsor
Universität Duisburg-Essen
Start date
2010-09
Primary completion
2011-02
Sex
All
Age range
from 18 Years to 75 Years
Results posted
No results posted in this snapshot
Countries
Germany
Total sites listed
1

Eligibility criteria

Show eligibility criteria (verbatim from the registry)
Inclusion Criteria: * Chronic mechanical neck pain, at least 40 mm on a 100mm visual analog scale. * Pain for at least 3 months. Exclusion Criteria: * radicular symptoms * congenital spine deformity * pregnancy * rheumatic diseases * oncologic diseases * other severe psychiatric or somatic comorbidity * recent invasive or surgical treatment of the spine * participation in other studies * skin diseases in the area to be treated

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov (US National Library of Medicine), snapshot October 2026. Check the registry for current recruiting status. Record: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT01233180