Effect of Scraping Therapy on Chronic Low Back Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

The therapeutic effect of scraping on hemiplegia patients after stroke: A meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

To provide a meta-analysis of scraping compared with routine nursing or rehabilitation methods in the treatment of hemiplegia after stroke.

METHODS

A systematic literature retrieval was performed across several databases until April 13, 2024, using keywords like scraping therapy, hemiplegia, and stroke. Studies were screened based on specific criteria, with quality assessed using the Cochrane "risk of bias" tool. Eight outcomes were meta-analyzed: efficiency, Fugl-Meyer Assessment, activity of daily living, Barthel Index, NIH Stroke Scale, WHO Quality of Life, Visual Analogue Scale, and dystonia grade 3 to 4. Subgroup analyses were based on age and therapeutic type.

RESULTS

Twenty-three studies with 1905 patients were included, with 952 receiving scraping therapy and 953 receiving routine nursing and rehabilitation. Patients treated with scraping showed better therapeutic efficiency than the control group with statistical significance (odds ratio: 5.30, 95% confidence interval: [2.66, 10.56], P < .05). In addition, statistically significant differences were also observed in Barthel Index, NIH Stroke Scale, Visual Analogue Scale, World Health Organization Quality of Life, and activity of daily living assessments between the 2 groups.

CONCLUSION

Scraping therapy improves therapeutic efficiency and quality of life in hemiplegia patients after stroke, highlighting its positive significance for hemiplegia rehabilitation.

The effectiveness of non-pharmacological interventions for low back pain in China: A systematic review and network meta-analysis

Low back pain (LBP) is the most common and incapacitating musculoskeletal disorder globally. The use of non-pharmacological interventions for the management of LBP is recommended by global clinical practice guidelines. However, existing guidelines often exhibit poor quality, as evidenced by inadequate systematic reviews of evidence. This necessitates further reviews tailored to the specific context of different countries. This review searched the CINAHL, EMBASE, MEDLINE, The Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and Wanfang databases from their inception to May 14, 2024. After data extraction by two independent researchers, a total of 57 randomized control trials (RCTs) were included. The Bayesian network meta-analysis results demonstrated that: (1) non-pharmacological therapies generally exhibited superior efficacy over pharmaceuticals in improving functional disability and overall efficacy; (2) pharmaceuticals, both alone and in combination with non-pharmacological therapies, were generally more effective than most non-pharmacological therapies in reducing pain intensity. High heterogeneity was observed, which could be explained by LBP subtypes in the analysis of functional disability. While heterogeneity had a limited impact on the confidence of results for pain intensity and functional disability, it significantly influenced the assessment of overall efficacy with major concerns of imprecision. The high volume of studies with a high risk of overall bias necessitates cautious interpretation of these findings. Chinese LBP patients may benefit most from non-pharmacological interventions, particularly those rooted in Traditional Chinese Medicine, for improving disability. For pain intensity reduction, pharmaceuticals and multi-component therapies incorporating pharmaceuticals may be more effective.

The Effect of Gua Sha Therapy on Pain in Parkinson's Disease: a Randomized Controlled Trial

Purpose

Pain is a common yet undertreated symptom of Parkinson's disease (PD). This study investigated the effect of Gua Sha therapy on pain in patients with PD.

Patients and Methods

A total of 56 PD patients with pain were randomized into either the experimental group (n=28), receiving 12 sessions of Gua Sha therapy, or the control group (n=28) without additional treatment. Participants underwent assessment at baseline, after the twelfth invention, and at the 2-month follow-up timepoints. The primary outcome was KPPS and VAS. Secondary outcomes included UPDRS I-III, PDSS-2, HADS, PDQ-39, and blood biomarkers (5-HT, IL-8, IL-10).

Results

The experimental group reported a significant improvement in pain severity, motor functions, affective disorder, and sleep quality (P < 0.05). Furthermore, increasing trends in both 5-HT and IL-10, as well as decreasing trends in IL-8 were observed. No serious adverse events occurred.

Conclusion

The preliminary findings suggest that Gua Sha therapy may be effective and safe for alleviating pain and improving other disease-related symptoms in PD patients.