Effects of Two week Thai Dancing on Neurodynamic Responses in Office Workers without Musculoskeletal Symptoms

Abstract

Office work is characterized as repetitive or sustained posture. This results in injuries of musculoskeletal tissues. Neural tension of the upper limbs is used to indicate injuries of shoulders and upper limbs. Reducing the neural tension can be accomplished by performing specific movement rhythmically and slowly. Thai dance is a slow dance with movement and rhythm similar to treatment maneuver for reducing neural tension. This study aimed to investigate effects of Thai dancing on upper limb neurodynamic and pain responses in office workers. The participants were 11 females with age range 21 45 years and positive neural tension sign at least 1 from 3 nerves and without any symptoms that require any kinds of treatment. The neural tension, pain and pressure pain threshold were determined at before, in between, and at the end of Thai dancing program. The program included Thai dancing by following 15 min clip video, 3 times/week, for 2 weeks consecutively. The result indicated that the tension of median, radial and ulnar nerves, and pressure pain threshold were decreased significantly. To be concluded, performing Thai dance for 2 weeks can reduce the signs of work related musculoskeletal disorders, such as neural tension and pressure pain threshold. It should be one of management choices for work related musculoskeletal injuries.