***TASK*** the task is to summarize an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***INPUT*** the input is a biomedical literature 
    ***OUTPUT*** the output is the summary of an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***DOCUMENTATION*** 
    ***EXAMPLES*** 
    Input: OBJECTIVE To document the prevalence and patterns of use of alternative medical therapies as well as their perceived effectiveness by patients in a rehabilitation medicine outpatient practice . DESIGN Cross-sectional survey by written question naire . SETTING An urban rehabilitation medicine outpatient referral office . PATIENTS A r and om sample of 103 patients referred for rehabilitation outpatient care , while waiting for their appointment , were given a question naire addressing their use of alternative therapies . MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Use of alternative therapies and their perceived effectiveness . RESULTS One or more alternative medical therapies had been used by 29.1 % of subjects in the past 12 months for their presenting problem . The most common therapies were massage , chiropractic , vitamin and mineral supplementation , and acupuncture .  Musculoskeletal pain syndromes involving the spine and extremities were the most common problems for which patients sought both physiatric and alternative care . Of the patients who used alternative treatments 53 % reported some degree of efficacy . CONCLUSIONS A significant proportion of rehabilitation medicine patients use and frequently perceive a benefit from alternative therapies , particularly massage , chiropractic , vitamin and mineral supplementation , and acupuncture . Incorporating alternative therapies into physiatric practice is a desirable future direction for the specialty Objective : This article examines the effectiveness of manual therapy with specific adjuvant exercise for treating  chronic low back pain and disability .  Methods : A single blind , r and omized , controlled trial was employed . Patients were prescribed an exercise program that was tailored to treat their musculoskeletal dysfunctions or given a nonspecific program of general stretching and aerobic conditioning . In addition , patients received manual therapy or sham manual therapy . Participants were seen for 6 weekly sessions and were asked to perform their exercise program twice daily . Results : Seventy-two out of 100 patients completed the study . Multivariate tests conducted for measures of pain and disability revealed a significant group by time interaction ( P = 0.04 and P = 0.05 , respectively ) , indicating differential change in these measures pretreatment to posttreatment as a function of the treatment received . When controlling for pretreatment scores , patients receiving manual therapy with specific adjuvant exercise reported significant reductions in pain . No change in perceived disability was observed , with the exception that patients receiving sham manual therapy with specific adjuvant exercise reported significantly greater disability at posttreatment . Discussion : Manual therapy with specific adjuvant exercise appears to be beneficial in treating  chronic low back pain .  Despite changes in pain , perceived function did not improve . It is possible that impacting chronic low back pain alone does not address psychosocial or other factors that may contribute to disability . Further studies are needed to examine the long-term effects of these interventions and to address what adjuncts are beneficial in improving function in this population Three treatments for non-specific lumbar pain -- balneotherapy , underwater traction bath , and underwater massage -- were assessed in a r and omised prospect i ve controlled trial in 158 out patients . Each group was treated for four weeks and patients were review ed at the end of this period and at 12 months after entry to the trial . The prescription of analgesics and the pain score were significantly reduced in all three treated groups , but there was no difference between the three groups . No significant change occurred in spinal motion and the straight leg raising test . After one year only the analgesic consumption was significantly lower than in the control group BACKGROUND The effectiveness of massage therapy for low-back pain has not been documented . This r and omized controlled trial compared comprehensive massage therapy ( soft-tissue manipulation , remedial exercise and posture education ) , 2 components of massage therapy and placebo in the treatment of subacute ( between 1 week and 8 months ) low-back pain . METHODS Subjects with subacute low-back pain were r and omly assigned to 1 of 4 groups : comprehensive massage therapy ( n = 25 ) , soft-tissue manipulation only ( n = 25 ) , remedial exercise with posture education only ( n = 22 ) or a placebo of sham laser therapy ( n = 26 ) . Each subject received 6 treatments within approximately 1 month . Outcome measures obtained at baseline , after treatment and at 1-month follow-up consisted of the Rol and Disability Question naire ( RDQ ) , the McGill Pain Question naire ( PPI and PRI ) , the State Anxiety Index and the Modified Schober test ( lumbar range of motion ) . RESULTS Of the 107 subjects who passed screening , 98 ( 92 % ) completed post-treatment tests and 91 ( 85 % ) completed follow-up tests . Statistically significant differences were noted after treatment and at follow-up . The comprehensive massage therapy group had improved function ( mean RDQ score 1.54 v. 2.86 - 6.5 , p < 0.001 ) , less intense pain ( mean PPI score 0.42 v. 1.18 - 1.75 , p < 0.001 ) and a decrease in the quality of pain ( mean PRI score 2.29 v. 4.55 - 7.71 , p = 0.006 ) compared with the other 3 groups . Clinical significance was evident for the comprehensive massage therapy group and the soft-tissue manipulation group on the measure of function . At 1-month follow-up 63 % of subjects in the comprehensive massage therapy group reported no pain as compared with 27 % of the soft-tissue manipulation group , 14 % of the remedial exercise group and 0 % of the sham laser therapy group . INTERPRETATION Patients with subacute low-back pain were shown to benefit from massage therapy , as regulated by the College of Massage Therapists of Ontario and delivered by experienced massage therapists OBJECTIVES To assess the effect of acupoint stimulation with electrodes combined with acupressure using an aromatic essential oil ( lavender ) as an add-on-treatment on pain relief and enhancing the physical functional activities among adults with sub-acute or chronic non-specific low back pain . DESIGN R and omised controlled trial . SETTING The community centre , Old-Aged Home and Women Workers Association , Hong Kong . INTERVENTION 8-session relaxation acupoint stimulation followed by acupressure with lavender oil over a 3-week period . The control group received usual care only . OUTCOME MEASURES Changes from baseline to the end of treatment were assessed in pain intensity ( by Visual Analogue Scale ) and duration ; lateral fingertip-to-ground distance in centimetres ; walking time and interference on daily activities . RESULTS The baseline VAS scores for the intervention and control groups were 6.38 ( S.E.M. = 0.22 ) and 5.70 ( S.E.M. = 0.37 ) out of 10 , respectively ( P=0.24 ) . One week after the end of treatment , the intervention group had 39 % greater reduction in VAS pain intensity than the control group ( P=0.0001 ) , improved walking time ( P=0.05 ) and greater lateral spine flexion range ( P=0.01 ) . CONCLUSIONS Our results show that 8-sessions of acupoint stimulation followed by acupressure with aromatic lavender oil were an effective method for short-term LBP relief . No adverse effects were reported . To complement mainstream medical treatment for sub-acute LBP , the combined therapy of acupoint stimulation followed by acupressure with aromatic lavender oil may be one of the choices as an add-on therapy for short-term reduction of LBP Delayed  onset muscle soreness  is a common problem that can interfere with rehabilitation as well as activities of daily living . The purpose of this study was to test the impact of therapeutic massage , upper body ergometry , or microcurrent electrical stimulation on muscle soreness and force deficits evident following a high-intensity eccentric exercise bout . Forty untrained , volunteer female subjects were r and omly assigned to one of three treatment groups or to a control group . Exercise consisted of high-intensity eccentric contractions of the elbow flexors . Resistance was reduced as subjects fatigued , until they reached exhaustion . Soreness rating was determined using a visual analog scale . Force deficits were determined by measures of maximal voluntary isometric contraction at 90 degrees of elbow flexion and peak torque for elbow flexion at 60 degrees/sec on a Cybex II isokinetic dynamometer . Maximal voluntary isometric contraction and peak torque were determined at the 0 hour ( before exercise ) and again at 24 and 48 hours postexercise . Treatments were applied immediately following exercise and again at 24 hours after exercise . The control group subjects rested following their exercise bout . Statistical analysis showed significant increases in soreness rating and significant decreases in force generated when the 0 hour was compared with 24- and 48-hour measures . Further analysis indicated no statistically significant differences between massage , microcurrent electrical stimulation , upper body ergometry , and control groups We conducted a pilot study to evaluate a practical exercise program for elderly people with chronic musculo-skeletal pain . Thirty-three subjects ( mean age , 73 years ; 69 % back pain ; 24 % knee pain ; 9 % hip pain ) were r and omly assigned to one of three groups . Group 1 received a 6-week supervised program of walking . Group 2 received a pain education program that included instruction and demonstration of use of heat , cold , massage , relaxation and distraction . Group 3 received usual care . Outcomes including pain , self-reported health and functional status , and performance-based measures of functional status were evaluated at baseline , at two weeks and at eight weeks ( end of study ) . Attendance was 100 % for the education sessions and 93 % for walking sessions . No injuries were sustained . Both intervention groups demonstrated significant improvements in pain ( p<0.05 ) and performance-based measures of functional status ( p<0.05 ) , while the control group had no changes . These data suggest that patient education and fitness walking can improve overall pain management and related functional limitations among elderly people with chronic musculo-skeletal pain Evaluating the effectiveness of nursing interventions in decreasing pain is a top priority for clinical research . Unfortunately , most of the research on cancer pain relief has been limited to treatment studies involving the administration of analgesics . Research is needed to determine which nonanalgesic methods of pain control are effective and under what conditions . Consequently , an experimental study was design ed to test the effectiveness of massage as an intervention for cancer pain . Twenty-eight patients were r and omly assigned to a  massage or control group .  The patients in the massage group were given a 10 minute massage to the back ; the patients in the control group were visited for 10 minutes . For males , there was a significant decrease in pain level immediately after the massage . For females , there was not a significant decrease in pain level immediately after the massage . There were no significant differences between pain 1 hour and 2 hours after the massage in comparison with the initial pain for males or females . Massage was shown to be an effective short-term nursing intervention for pain in males in this sample Abstract Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of acupressure in terms of disability , pain scores , and functional status . Design R and omised controlled trial . Setting Orthopaedic clinic in Kaohsiung , Taiwan . Participants 129 patients with chronic low back pain . Intervention Acupressure or physical therapy for one month . Main outcome measures Self administered Chinese versions of st and ard outcome measures for low back pain ( primary outcome : Rol and and Morris disability question naire ) at baseline , after treatment , and at six month follow-up . Results The mean total Rol and and Morris disability question naire score after treatment was significantly lower in the acupressure group than in the physical therapy group regardless of the difference in absolute score ( - 3.8 , 95 % confidence interval - 5.7 to - 1.9 ) or mean change from the baseline ( - 4.64 , - 6.39 to - 2.89 ) . Acupressure conferred an 89 % ( 95 % confidence interval 61 % to 97 % ) reduction in significant disability compared with physical therapy . The improvement in disability score in the acupressure group compared with the physical group remained at six month follow-up . Statistically significant differences also occurred between the two groups for all six domains of the core outcome , pain visual scale , and modified Oswestry disability question naire after treatment and at six month follow-up . Conclusions Acupressure was effective in reducing low back pain in terms of disability , pain scores , and functional status . The benefit was sustained for six months & NA ; It has recently been shown that ice massage of the web between the thumb and index finger produces significantly greater relief of dental pain than a placebo control procedure . These results indicate that ice massage may be comparable to transcutaneous electrical stimulation ( TES ) and acupuncture , and may be mediated by similar neural mechanisms . The purpose of this study was to examine the relative effectiveness of ice massage and TES for the relief of  low‐back pain . Patients suffering chronic low‐back pain were treated with both ice massage and TES . The order of treatments was balanced , and changes in the intensity of pain were measured with the McGill Pain Question naire ( MPQ ) . The results show that both methods are equally effective : based on the Pain Rating Index of the MPQ , 67–69 % of patients obtained pain relief greater than 33 % with each method . The results indicate that ice massage is an effective therapeutic tool , and appears to be more effective than TES for some patients . It may also serve as an additional sensory‐modulation method to alternate with TES to overcome adaptation effects . Evidence that cold signals are transmitted to the spinal cord exclusively by A‐delta fibers and not by C fibers suggests that ice massage provides a potential method for differentiating among the multiple feedback systems that mediate analgesia produced by different forms of intense sensory input BACKGROUND Although acupressure has been reported to be effective in managing various types of pain , its efficacy in relieving pain associated with low 
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They showed that massage was similar to exercises , and massage was superior to joint mobilization , relaxation therapy , physical therapy , acupuncture , and self-care education .
CONCLUSION Massage might be beneficial for patients with subacute and chronic nonspecific low back pain , especially when combined with exercises and education .