Chuna (or Tuina) Manual Therapy for Musculoskeletal Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. (26th December 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Lee, Nam-Woo; Kim, Gee-Heon; Heo, In; Kim, Koh-Woon; Ha, In-Hyuk; Lee, Jun-Hwan; Hwang, Eui-Hyoung; Shin, Byung-Cheul
• Other Names: Kennedy Deborah A. Academic Editor.
• Is Part Of: Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine. Volume 2017(2017)
• Publication Date: 2017-12-26
• Subjects: Alternative medicine -- Periodicals; 615.505
• DOI: 10.1155/2017/8218139
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1741-427X

Abstract

Abstract : Objective . To review the literature and systematically evaluate the effectiveness of Chuna (or Tuina) manual therapy (C[T]MT) on pain and function for musculoskeletal disorders. Methods . We searched 15 English, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean databases using relevant keywords. All randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of C(T)MT for musculoskeletal disorders were considered, and we limited analyses to studies with a low-risk bias for randomization and/or allocation concealment. Results . Sixty-six RCTs with 6, 170 participants were included. One sham-controlled RCT showed that C(T)MT relieved pain more effectively than a sham control (SMD - 3.09 [ - 3.59, - 2.59] ). For active-controlled RCTs, pooled meta-analysis showed that C(T)MT had statistically significant effects on pain reduction, especially compared to traction (P < 0.00001 ), drugs (P = 0.04 ), and physical therapies (P < 0.0001 ). For functional improvement, combined effects of C(T)MT with drugs (P = 0.04 ) and traction (P = 0.05 ) also showed similar positive effects. Conclusions . This systematic review suggests that C(T)MT is safe and effective for pain reduction and functional improvement for musculoskeletal diseases; however, the evidence for functional improvement was not as strong as for pain reduction. For future studies, high-quality RCTs such as sham-controlled studies with standardized interventions are needed to provide sufficient evidence on the effects of C(T)MT for musculoskeletal diseases. Protocol registration number is CRD42016038307 04/07/2016.