Comparison the Effect of Kermanshahi Massage with and without Plastic Masking (Shrink Therapy) on Symptoms of the Trigger Points in the Upper Trapezius Muscle

Kamran Mahlooji; Mahsima Abdoli; Fattaneh Hashem-Dabaghian

doi:10.18502/tim.v10i2.19060

Kamran Mahlooji Department of History of Medicine, School of Persian Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Mahsima Abdoli Department of History of Medicine, School of Persian Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Fattaneh Hashem-Dabaghian Institute for Studies in Medical History, Persian and Complementary Medicine, School of Persian Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/tim.v10i2.19060

Keywords: Massage; Persian medicine; Traditional medicine; Pain; Trigger points

Abstract

The Kermanshahi method of massaging (KM) has been conducted traditionally by this family for many years. This study compared the effect of KM in addition to plastic masking with KM on pain and disability caused by myofascial trigger points (MTrPs). In this randomized controlled trial, 48 females aged 18 to 70 complaining of pain in the upper trapezius area with MTrPs were randomly divided into two groups. Both groups received four sessions of KM at one-week intervals, and one of the groups received plastic masking treatment after the massage (group 2). The patients’ pain severity was measured using the visual analogue scale (VAS) before each session, and shoulder and neck pain and disability indices (SPADI and NPDS) were measured before the 1^st and 4^th sessions. Twenty participants in each group completed the study. The participants’ mean age and standard deviation were 47.69 ± 13.08 years. A significant decrease in VAS, SPADI, and NPDS scores was observed in both groups after the interventions (p < 0.001). The percentage of SPADI score reduction in group 2 (50.42 ± 27.15%) was significantly higher than the group 1 (24.92 ± 25.6%) (p = 0.002). KM can be used as an effective method to reduce neck and shoulder pain and disability in patients with upper trapezius MTrPs. In this study, plastic masking had a slight preference over the control group. Conducting similar studies with larger sample sizes and different methods of plastic masking is recommended.