Effect of Combined Manual Therapy and Therapeutic Exercise Protocols on the Postural Stability of Patients with Non-Specific Chronic Neck Pain. A Secondary Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Postural stability is a little-studied factor in non-specific chronic neck pain; the causes that can alter it are unknown. The relationship with chronic pain could be a determining factor for its deficit. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between sustained pain and a postural stability deficit. A randomized and blinded clinical trial (double-blind; placebo control; 12 weeks follow-up) was conducted with a total of 69 subjects divided into three groups, two experimental (manual therapy and specific exercise) and a control treatment, and carried out over a treatment period of three weeks with a follow-up after 12 weeks. Their postural stability was assessed through the overall balance index (OBI). The postural stability of subjects with non-specific chronic neck pain improved in the experimental treatments. There were no statistically significant differences between the experimental groups. This trial found that manual therapy and therapeutic exercise significantly improved OBI compared to the control group. Trial registration: Brazilian Clinical Trial Registry, RBR-2vj7sw.

Exercise therapy including the cervical extensor muscles in individuals with neck pain: A systematic review

“…49,53,66,67 All randomised controlled trials included people with chronic symptoms, except one that included people with subacute whiplash-associated disorders. 44 Some studies used the same participant samples for different follow-up sessions (Landen Ludvigsson et al, 61,64,68,69 Bernal-Utrera et al, 66,70 Ylinen et al 51,71,72 ) or for complementary analyses (Landen Ludvigsson et al, 61,73 Chiu et al 45,58 ). The main demographic characteristics of each group are presented in Supplemental Table 2.…”

“…Regarding the components of the neck pain rehabilitation programmes that included cervical extensor muscle exercises, the modalities and type of control intervention were very heterogeneous across studies. Five main categories of programmes involving cervical extensor muscle exercises could be distinguished: (1) interventions involving cervical extensor muscle exercises only; 53,55 (2) interventions involving cervical extensor muscle exercises and other neck muscle exercises; 46–48,50,52,56,57,61,64,66,68–70,73 (3) interventions involving cervical extensor muscle exercises combined with other neck and shoulder girdle muscle exercises; 44,49 (4) interventions involving cervical extensor muscle exercises combined with other neck muscle exercises and passive interventions such as manual techniques, dry needling, etc. ; 47,58,74 and (5) interventions involving cervical extensor muscle exercises combined with other active and passive interventions.…”

Efficacy of Combining Traditional Chinese Manual Therapy (Tuina) and Specific Therapeutic Neck Exercise in Young Adults with Non-Specific Chronic Neck Pain: Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial

“…Its purpose is to check the effect in treating this clinical condition. 5 , 39 However, they have not included complete clinical performance protocols, but simply combined manual therapy and therapeutic exercise.…”