The Duration of Effects of Massage in Healthy Participants

University of Central Florida

Status: Completed

Conditions: Healthy; Massage; Pressure Pain Threshold

Treatments: Other: Moderately Painful Massage

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT05317702

1

Details and patient eligibility

About

Massage is a common rehabilitation treatment for musculoskeletal pain. Prior studies indicate massage applied with a deep pressure that induces a moderate amount of pain produces a lessening of pain sensitivity compared to light touch, pain free massage. The investigators now aim to investigate how long pain sensitivity changes last after 4 minutes of moderately painful massage and determine factors that help predict who displays a lessening of pain sensitivity.

Enrollment: 20 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 60 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• pain-free

Exclusion criteria

• Non-English speaking
• Systemic medical condition known to affect sensation (i.e. uncontrolled diabetes)
• Regular use of prescription pain medication
• Current or history of chronic pain condition
• Currently taking a blood-thinning medication
• Any blood clotting disorder, such as hemophilia
• Contraindications to the application of a blood pressure cuff to the arm, such as: lymphedema or arterial/venous lines
• Contraindications to elevating the arm above the head or exercising the arm with a light weight, such as a recent surgery or fracture
• Investigator is unable to locate myofascial trigger point in the upper trapezius during testing session

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: N/A

Interventional model: Single Group Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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20 participants in 1 patient group

Moderately Painful Massage

Experimental group

Description:

Participants will be seated in a chair with his or her shirt on. Participants will receive 60 seconds of manual pressure applied to the myofascial trigger point identified in the participant's upper back. The researcher's thumb or index finger will apply a deep manual pressure such that the participant rates the pain = 50/100 on a 101-point numeric pain rating scale with 0 indicating no pain and 100 indicating the most severe pain imaginable. The participant will be asked to rate his or her pain during the massage so the pressure may be adjusted to maintain the 50/100 related pain. Massage will be applied for 60 seconds, 4 times for a total contact time of 240 seconds. During each 30 second break in which manual pressure is released, Pressure Pain Threshold (PPT) to the foot will be examined. PPT will be assessed 2 times immediately after each of the 4 massage applications.

Treatment:

Other: Moderately Painful Massage