The Effectiveness of Traditional Persian massage (Kermanshahi Style) on disability of lumbar radiculopathy: Quasi-experimental study

Massage is one of the most extensively employed therapeutic methods in Persian medicine for the treatment of back pain and its complications. To study the effectiveness of Kermanshahi Style massage in reducing lumbar radiculopathy disability this Quasi-experimental study was performed. The current research is a quasi-experimental clinical trial. The intervention group (traditional massage) was sampled from Ostad Kermanshahi traditional massage clinic, while the control group (common treatment) was sampled from the neurosurgery clinic of Imam Khomeini Hospital. Using convenience sampling, 26 individuals who had referred to each of the aforementioned centers were selected until achieving the required sample size. Patients with radicular pain for at least 8 weeks before visiting either of the clinics were included in the study. The degree of disability was measured using the "Roland-Morris Low Back Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ)" in three sessions; at first visit, one month and three months after starting the treatment. The results established that the mean of RMDQ score decreased during the follow-up period, and that considering the statistical value for repeated-measures analysis of variance (92.06) and p-value <0.001, the mean difference between the disability caused by lumbar radiculopathy in two measurements (end of the first month and end of the third month) is statistically significant. Massage is more effective in reducing the disability caused by back pain compared to conventional treatment. In patients treated with this massage style, the disability caused by lumbar radiculopathy decreased to greater effects than the conventional treatment method.