Abstract
Abstract
Background:
Adapted or adaptive sports promote social inclusion for persons with impaired mobility. The practice of sports entails a risk of pain, which can lead to a decrease in physical performance and disruption of training. Analgesic treatment can aggravate the causative factor and exacerbate injury severity. In para-athletes, the preexisting clinical condition adds complexity to therapeutic protocols.
Objectives:
The aim of this study was to examine acupuncture use in para-athletes who had pain symptoms during training and to compare the results of two pain-assessment scales.
Methods:
Paralympic team members (N=7; 6 males and 1 female) were referred following failure of pharmacologic and physiotherapy pain treatments. Acupuncture was perfomed following the Traditional Chinese Medicine method for Bi syndrome, with systemic balance and local acupoints, for 30 minutes twice weekly for 6 weeks. Two pain-assessment scales (a visual analogue scale [VAS] and the McGill pain questionnaire) were adminstered at four timepoints: T1 (baseline); T2 (after four acupuncture therapy sessions); T3 (after eight sessions); and T4 (after 12 sessions).
Results:
Significant pain reduction was achieved. The para-athletes' pain scores were significantly different from baseline, starting at T3. One athlete who had no response to acupuncture and altered tongue characteristics died of liver cancer after this study.
Conclusions:
Pain symptoms were reduced with acupuncture. The VAS and McGill questionnaire pain-assessment results were concordant. The mean duration required for improvement was eight acupuncture sessions. Cases of no response to acupuncture associated with markedly altered tongue characteristics could be investigated in future studies as predictive indicators of morbid conditions in athletes.
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