Efficacy of manipulation for recent onset neck pain. A randomised controlled trial

A randomised controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of manipulation in hastening recovery of symptoms and disability in neck pain of recent onset.

Status

Recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

ANZCTR

Registry ID

ACTRN12606000417583

Enrollment

182

Registered

2006-09-26

Start date

2006-09-25

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2020-01-13

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

None listed

Brief summary

Manipulation is a common treatment for non-specific neck pain. Neck manipulation, unlike gentler forms of manual therapy such as mobilisation, is associated with a small risk of serious neurovascular injury and can result in stroke or death. There is long standing and vigorous debate both within and between the professions that practice neck manipulation and the wider scientific community as to whether neck manipulation potentially does more harm than good. Both manipulation and mobilisation, when used in combination with exercise are more effective than placebo or other treatments for subacute and chronic neck pain. It is not known however, if manipulation leads to more rapid or more complete recovery than safer manual therapy techniques for neck pain of recent onset. This randomised controlled trial will compare the effectiveness of manipulation and mobilisation for an episode of recent onset neck pain.

Interventions

Experimental group: 4 sessions of neck manipulation of up to 30 minute duration provided by an experienced manipulative physiotherapist or chiropractor over 2 weeks

Study design

Allocation

Randomised controlled trial

Intervention model

Parallel

Primary purpose

Treatment

Masking

Blinded (masking used)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Age

18 Days to 70 Years

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

1) primary complaint of neck pain of <3 months duration preceded by >1month without neck pain, 2) English speaking, 3) neck manipulation is considered a suitable treatment by the treating practitioner.

Exclusion criteria

1) neck pain related to whiplash associated disorder or other trauma 2) serious spinal pathology (metastatic, inflammatory or infective diseases of the spine, or fracture) 3) nerve root compromise 4) spinal cord compromise 5) neck surgery in the past 12 months.

Outcome results