A Comparison of Seated Thoracic Manipulation and Targeted Supine Thoracic Manipulation on Cervical Flexion Motion and Pain

A Randomized Control Trial of the Immediate Effects of Seated Thoracic Manipulation and Targeted Supine Thoracic Manipulation on Cervical Spine Flexion Range of Motion and Pain

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT01938209

Enrollment

Registered

2013-09-10

Start date

2011-09-30

Completion date

2012-10-31

Last updated

2013-09-10

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

Conditions

Neck Pain

Brief summary

Thirty-nine patients with cervical spine pain were randomly assigned to either a seated thoracic manipulation or targeted supine thoracic manipulation group. Pain and flexion range of motion measures were taken before and after the intervention.

Detailed description

DESIGN: Randomized clinical trial OBJECTIVES: To determine the effectiveness of seated thoracic manipulation versus targeted supine thoracic manipulation on cervical spine pain and flexion range of motion. There is evidence that thoracic spine manipulation is an effective treatment for patients with cervical spine pain. This evidence includes a variety of techniques to manipulate the thoracic spine. While each of them is effective, no research has compared techniques to determine which produces the best outcomes. METHODS: Thirty-nine patients with cervical spine pain were randomly assigned to either a seated thoracic manipulation or targeted supine thoracic manipulation group. Pain and flexion range of motion measures were taken before and after the intervention.

Interventions

OTHERseated thoracic manipulation

seated general thoracic spine manipulation

OTHERsupine specific thoracic spine manipulation

supine specific thoracic spine manipulation

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

SINGLE_GROUP

Primary purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

18 Years to 60 Years

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* Inclusion criteria required patients to be between 18-60 years old with a primary complaint of neck pain

Exclusion criteria

* identification of red flags suggestive of nonmusculoskeletal etiology, history of whiplash injury within six weeks of the initial visit, diagnosis of cervical spine stenosis, central nervous system involvement, or signs of nerve root compression (two of the following limited at the same level: strength, sensation, reflexes).

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
neck pain	pain measure taken immediately on first visit	As measured by patient response at end range of flexion on a scale of 0 - 10.

Secondary

Measure	Time frame	Description
neck range of motion	range of motion assessed immediately in first visit	As measure using a bubble goniometer, shich has been shown to be valid and reliable.

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026