Tennis Ball Massage Therapy in Clinical Nurses: Effect on Relieving Musculoskeletal Disorders and Enhancing Self-Efficacy

Abstract

Musculoskeletal disorders are a common occupational disease. The prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders among nurses is estimated at 65.1%-87.3%, with neck, shoulders, and lower back being most affected. To explore the effectiveness of tennis ball massage therapy in alleviating muscle soreness and improving pain relief self-efficacy. In this quasi-experimental, single-group, pre- and post-test study, 216 nurses in regional teaching hospitals were screened for neck, shoulder, and back pain. Based on the unit attributes, systematic random sampling was employed to recruit 36 nurses to participate in a four-week "fighting pain" intervention program. The "Pain Visual Scale" and "Pain Relief Self-efficacy Scale" were used as the assessment tools. One-way and two-way repeated measure analysis of variance, a signed ranks test, and the Friedman test were used to assess longitudinal change in the data. Shoulders were the most reported site of muscle pain (94.4%), followed by the neck (88.9%) and the upper back (55.6%). The locations of neck, shoulder, and back pain were interacted differently with the four measurement times (F = 2.69, p = .020). In the post hoc comparison, pain relief effectiveness was most significant in the third posttest, followed by the second. The pain relief was significantly different between the pre-test and the third post-test (t = 6.39, 8.68, 6.96, p < .001). There was a significant difference before and after the intervention of the pain relief self-efficacy (F = 53.49, p < .001). The post hoc comparison results revealed that self-efficacy was lowest at pretest and highest at the third posttest. Significant differences were observed between the pre-test and third post-test at the end of the intervention (t = -10.25, p < .001). This study shows that tennis ball massage can improve neck, shoulder, and back pain in nurses and improve pain relief self-efficacy. Tennis ball massage is easy to implement, has no time and space restrictions, and requires no assistance to operate. This equipment can be used to effectively reduce muscle pain, improve the comfort of performing regular activities, and raise work efficiency, reducing the negative impact of muscle pain on work.