Abstract
Objective
To determine whether the Feldenkrais method is an effective intervention for chronic
neck/scapular pain in patients with visual impairment.
Design
Randomized controlled trial with an untreated control group.
Setting
Low vision center.
Participants
Patients (N=61) with visual impairment (mean, 53.3y) and nonspecific chronic (mean,
23.8y) neck/scapular pain.
Interventions
Participants were randomly assigned to the Feldenkrais method group (n=30) or untreated
control group (n=31). Patients in the treatment group underwent one 2-hour Feldenkrais
method session per week for 12 consecutive weeks.
Main Outcome Measures
Blind assessment of perceived pain (visual analog scale [VAS]) during physical therapist
palpation of the left and right occipital, upper trapezius, and levator scapulae muscle
areas; self-assessed degree of pain on the Visual, Musculoskeletal, and Balance Complaints
questionnaire; and the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey bodily
pain scale.
Results
Patients undergoing Feldenkrais method reported significantly less pain than the controls
according to the VAS and Visual, Musculoskeletal, and Balance Complaints questionnaire
ratings at posttreatment follow-up and 1-year follow-up. There were no significant
differences regarding the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey
bodily pain scale ratings.
Conclusions
Feldenkrais method is an effective intervention for chronic neck/scapular pain in
patients with visual impairment.
Keyword
List of abbreviations:
SF-36 (Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey), VAS (visual analog scale)To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to Archives of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
References
- Chronic neck pain of traumatic and non-traumatic origin: a population-based study.Acta Orthop Scand. 2003; 74: 576-579
- Arthritis and musculoskeletal disorders.in: Tierney Jr., L.M. Current medical diagnosis and treatment. McGraw-Hill, New York2007: 826-886
- Prevalence and occupational associations of neck pain in the British population.Scand J Work Environ Health. 2001; 27: 49-56
- Knowledge to action: a challenge for neck pain treatment.J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2009; 39: 351-363
- The Saskatchewan health and back pain survey: the prevalence of neck pain and related disability in Saskatchewan adults.Spine. 1998; 23: 1689-1698
- Stabilization of gaze: a relationship between ciliary muscle contraction and trapezius muscle activity.Vision Res. 2010; 50: 2559-2569
- Eye-neck interactions triggered by visually deficient computer work.Work. 2011; 39: 67-78
- The relationship between low vision and musculoskeletal complaints: a case control study between age-related macular degeneration patients and age-matched controls with normal vision.J Optometry. 2009; 2: 127-133
- Physiotherapy interventions for shoulder pain.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2003; : CD004258
- Clinical outcomes of exercise in the management of subacromial impingement syndrome: a systematic review.Clin Rehabil. 2010; 24: 99-109
- Effects of physiotherapy in patients with shoulder impingement syndrome: a systematic review of the literature.J Rehabil Med. 2009; 41: 470-480
- The Feldenkrais Method: a dynamic approach to changing motor behavior.Res Q Exerc Sport. 2001; 72: 315-323
- Comments on “The Feldenkrais method: a dynamic approach to changing motor behavior”.Res Q Exerc Sport. 2003; 74: 116-123
- Randomized controlled trial of physiotherapy and Feldenkrais interventions in female workers with neck-shoulder complaints.J Occup Rehabil. 1999; 9: 179-194
- Has the prevalence of neck pain and low back pain changed over the last 5 years? A population-based national study in Spain.Spine J. 2013; 13: 1069-1076
- [Descriptions in motion awareness of Feldenkrais pedagogy. Vol. 1–3] [CD-ROM] [Swedish].Fristad: Ryggverket, 2004
- Graphic representation of pain.Pain. 1976; 2: 175-184
- Trigger points and myofascial pain: toward understanding how they affect headaches.Cephalalgia. 1998; 18: 436-448
- Massage therapy and frequency of chronic tension headaches.Am J Public Health. 2002; 92: 1657-1661
- SF-36 health survey manual and interpretation guide.New England Medical Center, The Health Institute, Boston1993
- The SF-36 Health Survey: development and use in mental health research and the IQOLA Project.Int J Mental Health. 1994; 23: 49-73
- The Swedish SF-36 Health Survey–I. Evaluation of data quality, scaling assumption, reliability and construct validity across general populations in Sweden.Soc Sci Med. 1995; 41: 1349-1358
- Pain: biopsychosocial mechanisms and management.Curr Dir Psychol Science. 1999; 8: 137-141
- The annual incidence and course of neck pain in the general population: a population-based cohort study.Pain. 2004; 112: 267-273
- Conservative treatment of acute and chronic nonspecific low back pain: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials of the most common interventions.Spine. 1997; 22: 2128-2156
Article info
Publication history
Published online: June 04, 2014
Footnotes
Supported by a grant from the REHSAM Research Program at the Swedish Social Insurance Agency (grant no. 99368-2009/RS11).
Clinical Trial Registration No.: NTCT01361906.
Disclosures: none.
Identification
Copyright
© 2014 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
