Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/494122
F r e e S O A P n o t e s w i t h M a s s a g e B o o k f o r A B M P m e m b e r s : a b m p . u s / M a s s a g e b o o k 45 with the outcomes (e.g., cardiovascular disease, epilepsy, rheumatoid arthritis, or other disqualifying conditions); or pregnancy or planning to become pregnant during the study. Of the 92 subjects enrolled in the study, 46 were randomized to the Chinese massage group, which included "rolling, rubbing, pushing, oblique-pulling, stroking, and tapotement" on the low back for 40 minutes, once daily, for eight weeks by professional therapists. The 46 subjects randomized to the Chinese massage plus exercise group received the same treatment in addition to core stability exercises including "plank, side plank, bridge, straight leg raise, and modified push-up," performed 10 times for one arm or leg, once daily for eight weeks. The results demonstrated that after two weeks of care, both groups significantly improved in terms of pain and disability, with no differences between the groups. After eight weeks of treatment, both groups continued to demonstrate significantly improved pain and disability scores. However, pain and disability scores were significantly lower in the Chinese massage plus core stability exercise group than in the CHINESE MASSAGE VS. CHINESE MASSAGE PLUS CORE STABILITY Recently, another comparative effectiveness trial was published that compared Chinese massage with a group who received Chinese massage plus performed core stability exercises for nonspecific chronic low-back pain. 3 The types of outcome measures were similar to the Kamali study, with pain assessed via the Visual Analog Scale and disability via the Oswestry Disability Index. In this study, subjects were recruited from a hospital of traditional Chinese medicine and were included if they were less than 55 years old; had nonspecific chronic low-back pain without any relevant ongoing pathologies such as disc prolapse, fractures, infection, osteoporosis, spondylolisthesis, or tumor; and were willing to participate in this study and sign an informed consent. The exclusion criteria for this study included other pain syndromes; spinal surgery in the past six months or having to undergo surgery or invasive examinations during the study; neurological disease; psychiatric disease; serious chronic disease that could interfere