BackgroundData indicates promising benefits of auriculotherapy (AT) in pain management of several pathologies. Common cervical pain (CCP) is recurrent plaint often resistant to standard treatment. And use of auriculotherapy as a therapeutic solution in neck pain has not been well explored.ObjectivesThe aim of our study is to evaluate efficacy of a single session of AT in the management of CCP’s pain and disability.MethodsWe conducted an interventional comparative study. Fifty patients with CCP consulting were divided in two group of 25: group A underwent a session of AT, group P had a placebo treatment using a detuned ultrasound machine. Evaluation of the patients was performed before, and right after the intervention. The Neck and Pain Disability Scale (NPDS) questionnaire. It includes 3 areas: F1 for functional disability, F2 for movement-induced pain and F3 for pain in static position.ResultsWe enrolled 32 women and 18 men with an average age of 47. Epidemiological, clinical and radiographic features were comparable for both groups, except for the standard of living and the consumption of analgesics, which were significantly higher in the group A (p=0.027and p<0.001, respectively). Initially, NPDS total score and F1, F2, F3 sub scores were comparable in both groups.After the intervention, all scores had decreased significantly. In the A group: NPDS total went from 34.3 to 22.9 (p<0.001), F1 went from 9.5 to 6.2 (p<0.001), F2 went from 16.5 to 11.9 (p<0.001), F3 from 8 to 5.4 (p<0.001). In the P group: NPDS total decreased from 28.9 to 26 (p=0.001), F1 from 6.3 to 5.7 (p= 0.001), F2 going from 14.4 to 13.3 (p =0.013), F3 went from 8 to 7.3 (p=0.006).When we compared the scores after the intervention, the improvement was statistically higher in the A group for all scores (p<0.001 for total, F1 and F2, and p=0.002 for F3 sub score).ConclusionOur study revealed that a single session of auriculotherapy is effective on short term in the treatment of pain and disability related to CCP. This alternative technique may gain its place in the therapeutic management protocol to overcome disability of chronic neck pain.Disclosure of InterestsNone declared
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.