Chronic Neck Pain
Conditions
Keywords
qigong, traditional chinese medicine, exercise therapy, neck pain
Brief summary
The purpose of this study is to assess the effectiveness of qigong for the treatment of chronic neck pain compared to exercise therapy and waiting list group.
Interventions
PROCEDUREexercise therapy
18 therapy sessions, during the first 3 months once a week, month 4 to 6 once every second week
PROCEDUREQigong
18 therapy sessions, during the first 3 months once a week, month 4 to 6 once every second week
Sponsors
Charite University, Berlin, Germany
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
20 Years to 60 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* clinical diagnosis of chronic neck pain since at least 6 months and complaints for a maximum duration of 5 years * neck pain more prominent than other pain in the spine * average pain intensity of the last 7 days more or equal to 40 mm measured by a visual analogue scale (VAS 0 - 100 mm) * normal mobility of the cervical spine * intellectual and physical ability to participate in the study * informed consent
Exclusion criteria
* cervical pain related to malignancy * cervical pain due to an accident * inflammatory joint disorders * previous spine surgery * protrusion/prolapse of a spinal disk, spondylolisthesis, with radicular symptomatology * actually doing or planning to do other regular physical exercise during the study with possible positive effects on neck pain - such as swimming, yoga, pilates, tai chi, etc. * use of pain drugs for other diseases (\> 1x/week) * pregnancy * severe chronic or acute disease interfering with therapy attendance * alcohol or substance abuse * participation in another clinical trial in the last 6 months before study entry
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| average pain intensity during the last 7 days measured on a visual analogue scale (VAS) | baseline, 3, 6, 12, and 24 months |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| health related quality of life (SF-36) | baseline, 3, 6, 12 and 24 months |
| patient expectation and self efficacy (questionnaire) | Baseline, 3, 6, 12, and 24 months |
| Neck Pain and Disability Scale (NPAD, Wheeler 1999) | baseline, 3, 6, 12, and 24 months |
| undesired effects | 3, 6, 12, and 24 months |
| semi-structured interviews to detect changes due to therapy and to assess the used questionnaires | 3 and 6 months |
| therapist's expectation | baseline, 3, 6, 12, and 24 months |
Countries
Germany
Outcome results
None listed