None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
The purpose of this research is to improve the diagnosis and treatment of chronic neck pain. Biomarkers from 10 individuals with chronic non-specific neck pain will be compared to 10 healthy age and gender matched control participants at baseline and six months from baseline. Neck pain participants will be randomised to either receive a chiropractic manual treatment technique (6 sessions) or be on a waiting list. For the neck pain group, biomarkers will be measured at baseline, immediately after treatment (6 weeks from baseline) and at 6-months from baseline. Outcome measures are pain (VAS), cortical biomarkers measured with magnetic resonance imaging (structural imaging, diffusion tensor imaging, resting-state functional MRI, and MR spectroscopy), kinematic biomarkers measured with 3-D motion analysis, and clinical measures including spinal stiffness, muscle performance on the deep neck flexor test, pressure pain threshold, cervical range of motion, Neck Disability Index, SF-12, Pain Impact Questionnaire, and General Health Questionnaire-28. This pilot study will (1) determine potential cortical and kinematic biomarkers that can be used to develop targeted interventions for neck pain, and (2) determine if chiropractic manual therapy has effects on cortical and kinematic biomarkers and reduces pain.
Interventions
Patients allocated to the treatment group will receive 6 45-minute visits of chiropractic manual therapy consisting of a clinical assessment and the application of the Gonstead technique, delivered weekly over 6 weeks. The Gonstead technique is a commonly applied chiropractic manipulation involving a rapidly applied firm pressure to the neck that may or may not result in an audible click.
Sponsors
Dr Suzanne Snodgrass
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Blinded (masking used) (Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to 55 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Neck pain participants: (1) chronic non-specific neck pain (> 90 days), rated at least 4/10 on a 0-10 numerical rating scale, and reported to at least 'moderately' interfere with normal activities over the previous 4 weeks (2) aged between 18 and 55 years (3) be able to lie in a cylindrical magnet on their back (4) free from any metallic implants Healthy controls: (1) aged between 18 and 55 years (2) be able to lie in a cylindrical magnet on their back (3) free from any metallic implants (4) matched to a neck pain participant by age and gender
Exclusion criteria
Neck pain participants: (1) claustrophobic (2) upper cervical pain, headache, or dizziness as their primary complaint (3) history of migraine headaches (4) history of trauma related to the neck (e.g. whiplash) (5) surgery to the neck (6) diabetes (7) peripheral vascular disease (8) referred arm pain past the tip of the shoulder (9) neuropathic type pain (score of 10 or more on s-LANSS) (10) currently receiving hands on treatment for their neck pain (e.g.,physiotherapy, chiropractic, acupuncture, massage or similar) in the last 12 weeks (11) on workers' compensation (12) pregnant or breastfeeding (13) conditions that prohibit manual treatment to the neck including: known history of cancer, inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, infectious diseases affecting the neck, osteoporosis, nerve root pain, instability in the neck or symptoms such as dizziness or double vision. Healthy controls: (1) claustrophobic (2) any neck or back pain for which they sought treatment in the previous 2 years (3) any previous history of injury or trauma to the neck (e.g., whiplash) (4) any current musculoskeletal pain in any body area (also excluded if they have any of the factors listed in exclusions 3 through 12 for the neck pain group)
Outcome results
None listed