Acute effect of Korean hand acupuncture on neck pain: A randomized controlled preliminary study

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Neck pain is considered a musculoskeletal disease with a prevalence of 30% to 50% in western populations. Its impact on quality of life is high and the efficacy of conventional treatments limited. Korean hand acupuncture (KHA), based on the theory that the hand is a microsystem of the human body, has the advantage to be easy to perform without side effects to the patient, having therapeutic and diagnosis value. The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of KHA on nonspecific neck pain. Methods A randomized controlled trial was conducted involving 31 patients with cervicalgia. The experimental (EG) (verum) and control (CG) (sham) groups were subject to KHA in the corresponding neck area of the hand (true KHA) and anterior thigh somatotopy (sham KHA), respectively. Before (T0) and after a 20\u2009min’ session of KHA (T1), intensity of pain and motion range of the most painful neck movement were measured. Results After treatment, statistically significant differences between the experimental and control groups were observed in both the intensity of pain (measured with a visual analogue scale); and in the percentage in the range of motion (assessed by a goniometer), (p\u2009=\u20090.005, and p\u2009=\u20090.005 respectively). Conclusions Our preliminary data seems to be sufficiently relevant to recommend further studies on the effects of Korean hand acupuncture on neck pain although limitations as the sample size, the methods to assess neck mobility and the assessment of the cumulative therapeutic effect have to be taken into account.