Effects of acupuncture and massage on physical symptoms in health care workers treating COVID-19

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic caused many healthcare workers to experience serious physical symptoms. At government request, The Disaster Support Acupuncture Masseur Joint Committee (DSAM) began to provide acupuncture treatment and massage to a group of healthcare professionals 11 days after a cluster of positive COVID-19 cases had been confirmed at their hospital. Most of the 63 recipients (cumulative total of 72 patients) of 7-day support were female (77.8%), in their 40s (30.2%), and worked as nurses (87.3%). Their chief complaints were neck and shoulder pain (54.7%). Thirty-four patients (39.5%), who had suffered from these symptoms until receiving treatment, showed an improvement in the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS): Although 16 patients (47.1%) had scored 7 or higher before the treatment, none did after the treatment indicating that early-stage intervention can effectively reduce pain.