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The Effect of Manual Treatment on Respiratory Parameters, Pain, Posture and Quality of Life in Chronic Neck Pain

The Effect of Manual Treatment on Respiratory Parameters, Pain, Posture and Quality of Life in Chronic Neck Pain Individuals

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT03447977
Enrollment
46
Registered
2018-02-27
Start date
2018-06-01
Completion date
2019-12-24
Last updated
2025-05-29

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

Conditions

Neck Pain

Keywords

neck pain, manual therapy, respiratory function

Brief summary

Neck pain which is common musculoskeletal system problem in all populations, negatively affects functional status and quality of life. Muscle spasms, postural problems in cervical and thoracic regions and impairment on respiratory parameters (respiratory functions and respiratory muscle strength) is seen with neck pain. Manual therapy and exercise are widely preferred in the treatment of neck pain for improve pain, posture, muscle strength, range of motion, functional status and quality of life. There are some studies showing that manual therapy improves respiratory parameters in pulmonary diseases but studies are lacking for neck pain. Our aim is to indicate that effects of manual therapy, manual therapy for different regions (cervical and/or thoracal region) and exercises for pain, posture, quality of life and also respiratory parameters in patients with chronic neck pain.

Detailed description

Manual therapy and exercises are evidence-based methods for improving pain, muscle strength, range of motion, function and quality of life in individuals with neck pain. These physiotherapy approaches have been shown to improve respiratory functions in patients with neck pain and also in pulmonary diseases such as cystic fibrosis and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases. Studies show that to improve respiratory parameters in patients for chronic neck pain, mobilization of thoracic region and exercises for endurance of deep neck muscles are beneficial. Despite the proposal given in this study, there are few studies evaluating the relationship between respiratory functions and the strength of respiratory muscles in patients with neck pain in detail, and also the effectiveness of different physiotherapy-rehabilitation methods on respiratory functions on neck pain. In a single study on this subject, thoracic region manual therapy, stretching exercise program and both of these applications were applied for the subjects. At the end of the treatment, respiratory functions developed in all three groups; but both applications group have been shown to more effective than thoracic manual therapy group for increasing respiratory functions.Exercises and manual therapy for cervical and/or thoracic region frequently used for chronic neck pain but there are no studies that compare manual therapy for different region on respiratory parameters. Therefore, our aim is to determine the effects of exercises with manual therapy methods for cervical and/or thoracic region in chronic neck pain patients on pain, posture, quality of life, as well as on respiratory parameters.

Interventions

OTHERcervical

cervical spine manual therapy

OTHERthoracic

thoracic spine manual therapy

OTHERexercises

exercises for pain

Sponsors

Hacettepe University
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 65 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Individuals who have pain for at least 3 month with mechanical neck pain * Individuals voluntarily participating to the study

Exclusion criteria

* Individuals who have undergone cervical, spinal, thoracic, or abdominal region surgeries or pathology; whiplash injury; neurological deficit; osteoporosis; rheumatological disease; pulmonary disease; pharmacological treatment; or malignancy; or have a body mass index (BMI) \>40 or were smokers

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
respiratory function(forced vital capacity,peak expiratory flow,maximum voluntary ventilation,forced expiratory flow at 1sn)change from baseline respiratory parameters at six weeksrespiratory function will be measured with spirometer (%)high degrees represent better outcome, low degrees represent worse outcome)
respiratory muscle strengthchange from baseline respiratory muscle strength at six weeksinspiratory muscle strength and expiratuary muscle strength will be measured with digital mouth pressure measuring device (%).

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
range of motionchange from baseline range of motion at six weeksneck range of motion(high degrees represent better outcome, low degrees represent worse outcome
neck functional statuschange from baseline functional status at six weeksneck disability index (total score min 0- max 50 point, high degrees represent worse outcome, low degrees represent better outcome and 0-4 point= no disability, 5-14 minimal disability, 15-24 moderate disability, 25-34 severe disability, 35-50 total functional disability)
quality of life statuschange from baseline quality of life at six weeksShort form of quality of life scale(SF-36)(total score 100 point min 0-max 100 point, high degrees represent better outcome, low degrees represent worse outcome
anxiety levelchange from baseline anxiety level at six weeksback anxiety scale(min 0-max 63 point, high degrees represent worse outcome, low degrees represent better outcome, total score 0-17 point shows minimal anxiety, 18-24 shows moderate anxiety, 30-63 shows severe anxiety status)
depression levelchange from baseline depression level at six weeksback depression scale(min 0-max 63 point,high degrees represent worse outcome, low degrees represent better outcome, total score 0-9 shows minimal depression, 10-16 shows mild depression, 17-29 shows moderate depression, 30-63 shows severe depression status
pain positionchange from baseline pain at six weekspain level at rest, activity and night with visual analog scale (min 0cm-max10cm, better outcome 0 worst outcome 10)
kinesiophobiachange from baseline kinesiophobia at six weekstampa kinesiophobia scale (total score min 17-max 68 point, high degrees represent worse outcome, low degrees represent better outcome)
neck muscle endurancechange from muscle endurance baseline at six weeksThe measurements were performed from a crook lying position with a pressure biofeedback device (Stabilizer, Chattanooga, USA), which was placed behind participants' neck. The device was initially inflated to a baseline pressure of 20 mmHg. The participants had to successively perform 3 10-s holds of a head nodding action at each of the 5 pressure levels (22 mmHg, 24 mmHg, 26 mmHg, 28 mmHg and 30 mmHg). Participants' deep neck flexors were considered fatigued when pressure decrease at the pressure sensor, apparent activation of the superficial neck flexors or a jerky action during holding of the pressure level were observed.
neck and upper limb strengths testchange from baseline strength at six weeksneck and upper limb strengths test measured with dynamometer (high degrees represent better outcome, low degrees represent worse outcome)
pressure painchange from baseline strength at six weekspressure pain tolerance with algometer (kg/cm2high degrees represent better outcome, low degrees represent worse outcome
Thoracal expansionchange from baseline expansion strength at six weeksthe difference between the values obtained during deep inspiration and expiration will be determined by tape (cm),high degrees represent better outcome, low degrees represent worse outcome
physical activity levelchange from baseline physical activity level at six weeksinternational physical activity score ( the metabolic equivalent (MET) value will be calculated and recorded by asking the time and frequency spent on sitting, walking, moderately severe activities and violent activities. The total physical activity value will be determined using the formula calculated by the patient's body weight, total score \< 600 MET-dk/week shows physically inactivity, 600-3000 MET-dk/week shows minimal active and \> 3000 MET-dk/week shows active
posturechange from baseline posture at six weeksforward head posture(high degrees represent worse outcome, low degrees represent better outcome), thoracic posture (high degrees represent worse outcome, low degrees represent better outcome)

Countries

Turkey (Türkiye)

Outcome results

None listed

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