Effect of physical training on function of chronically painful muscles: a randomized controlled trial
One page on PainSci cites Andersen 2008: Strength Training for Pain & Injury Rehab
PainSci commentary on Andersen 2008: ?This page is one of thousands in the PainScience.com bibliography. It is not a general article: it is focused on a single scientific paper, and it may provide only just enough context for the summary to make sense. Links to other papers and more general information are provided wherever possible.
This simple test of strength training as therapy for shoulder pain had positive results in 42 women with shoulder pain, researchers found that “specific strength training relieved pain and increases maximal activity.” Indeed, their pain was reduced 42–49%, and this result was less than 5% likely to be due to random chance.
original abstract †Abstracts here may not perfectly match originals, for a variety of technical and practical reasons. Some abstacts are truncated for my purposes here, if they are particularly long-winded and unhelpful. I occasionally add clarifying notes. And I make some minor corrections.
Pain and tenderness of the upper trapezius muscle is frequent in several occupational groups. The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of three contrasting interventions on muscle function and pain in women with trapezius myalgia.
A group of employed women (n = 42) with a clinical diagnosis of trapezius myalgia participated in a 10-wk randomized controlled intervention: specific strength training of the neck/shoulder muscles, general fitness training performed as leg bicycling, or a reference intervention without physical activity. Torque and electromyography (EMG) were recorded during maximal shoulder abductions in an isokinetic dynamometer at -60, 60, 0, and 180 degrees /s. Furthermore, a submaximal reference contraction with only the load of the arms was performed.
Significant changes were observed only in the specific strength training group. Pain decreased by 42–49% (P < 0.01-0.05). Whereas the EMG activity of the unaffected deltoid remained unchanged during the maximal contractions, an increase in EMG amplitude (42-86%; P < 0.001-0.05) and median power frequency (19%; P < 0.001) were observed for the painful trapezius muscle. Correspondingly, torque increased by 18-53% (P < 0.001-0.05). EMG during the reference contraction decreased significantly for both the trapezius and deltoid muscles (P < 0.01).
In conclusion, specific strength training relieves pain and increases maximal activity specifically of the painful trapezius muscle, leading to increased shoulder abduction strength in women with trapezius myalgia. Furthermore, decreased relative workload may indirectly augment pain reduction.
related content
- “Strength training and stretching versus stretching only in the treatment of patients with chronic neck pain: a randomized one-year follow-up study,” Häkkinen et al, Clinical Rehabilitation, 2008.
- “Dose-Response Relationship of Specific Training to Reduce Chronic Neck Pain and Disability,” Nikander et al, Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 2006.
- “Stretching exercises vs manual therapy in treatment of chronic neck pain: a randomized, controlled cross-over trial,” Ylinen et al, Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine, 2007.
- “Effect of neck exercises on cervicogenic headache: a randomized controlled trial,” Ylinen et al, Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine, 2010.
- “Active neck muscle training in the treatment of chronic neck pain in women: a randomized controlled trial,” Ylinen et al, Journal of the American Medical Association, 2003.
- “Effects of neck muscle training in women with chronic neck pain: one-year follow-up study,” Ylinen et al, Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 2006.
- “Neck muscle training in the treatment of chronic neck pain: a three-year follow-up study,” Ylinen et al, Europa Medicophysica, 2007.
- “Dose-Response Relationship of Specific Training to Reduce Chronic Neck Pain and Disability,” Nikander et al, Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 2006.
- “Effect of therapeutic exercise on pain and disability in the management of chronic nonspecific neck pain: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials,” Bertozzi et al, Physical Therapy, 2013.
- “Long-term effects of therapeutic exercise on nonspecific chronic neck pain: a literature review,” Cheng et al, J Phys Ther Sci, 2015.
- “Exercises for mechanical neck disorders,” Gross et al, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2015.
- “The effects of training and detraining after an 8 month resistance and stretching training program on forward head and protracted shoulder postures in adolescents: Randomised controlled study,” Ruivo et al, Manual Therapy, 2015.
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