The Effect of Tuina Anfa Therapy at Shenshu Point on Reducing Low Back Pain Intensity in Supra Group Office Workers with Cold-Dampness Syndrome

Abstract

Low back pain is commonly experienced by office workers, with a prevalence of 72% among individuals with sitting durations of >4 hours/day. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), this condition is associated with the pattern of Cold-Dampness Syndrome, which is characterized by the obstruction of meridians. Tuina Anfa therapy at the Shenshu acupoint has been reported to reduce pain intensity; however, research involving office worker populations remains limited. This study aimed to determine the effect of Tuina Anfa therapy at the Shenshu acupoint on reducing low back pain intensity among office workers with Cold-Dampness Syndrome.This study employed a quasi-experimental design with an interrupted time-series approach involving 20 office workers at Supra Group who experienced low back pain associated with Cold-Dampness Syndrome. Participants were selected using purposive sampling based on the following criteria: age 21–45 years, chronic low back pain lasting >12 weeks, and a Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) score >4. The Tuina Anfa intervention at the Shenshu acupoint was administered twice weekly for 4 weeks, resulting in a total of 8 sessions. A total of 20 respondents participated, with 55% aged 21–30 years, 55% being male, and all participants working in a sitting position for >4 hours/day.The mean NRS score decreased from 4.45 (moderate pain) before the intervention to 1.15 (mild pain) after 8 sessions, representing a mean reduction of 3.30 points (74.2%). The Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test showed a p-value of 0.000 (p < 0.05), indicating a statistically significant difference between pain intensity scores before and after the intervention. All respondents (100%) experienced a decrease in NRS scores, and no adverse effects were reported. Tuina Anfa therapy at the Shenshu acupoint demonstrated potential effectiveness in reducing low back pain intensity among office workers with Cold-Dampness Syndrome (p = 0.000) and may be considered a safe non-pharmacological intervention. Further studies with larger samples and controlled designs are recommended to confirm these findings.