Comparison of Manual Assessment of Cervical Segmental Motion With Musculoskeletal Ultrasound

Construct Validity of Manual Assessment of Cervical Segmental Motion: A Comparison With Musculoskeletal Ultrasound-Derived Cervical Interfacet Motion

Status

Completed

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Observational

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT07722676

Enrollment

Registered

2026-07-23

Start date

2025-02-02

Completion date

2026-05-31

Last updated

2026-07-27

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

Conditions

Neck Pain

Keywords

passive intervertebral motion, Musculoskeletal Ultrasound, interfacet motion

Brief summary

A cross-sectional construct validity study was conducted to investigate the relationship between clinician-rated cervical passive intervertebral motion (PIVM) testing and ultrasound quantification of cervical interfacet motion. The study was designed to determine whether clinical classifications of cervical segmental mobility correspond to objectively quantified cervical intersegmental movement. PIVM testing represents a clinician's subjective assessment of cervical segmental movement based on perceived excursion, resistance to motion, and end-feel. In contrast, dynamic musculoskeletal ultrasound (MSKUS) was used to objectively quantify cervical interfacet motion by measuring changes in interfacet distance between standardized cervical positions. Construct validity was evaluated by examining the relationship between these two measurement approaches.

Interventions

DIAGNOSTIC_TESTPassive Intervertebral Motion testing

Manual assessment of the interfacet motion at C5-C6 facet joint

Study design

Observational model

COHORT

Time perspective

CROSS_SECTIONAL

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

18 Years to 65 Years

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

* between 18 and 65 years old * able to read English to provide proper consent

Exclusion criteria

* current neck pain (\>2/10 on a numerical pain rating scale) * cervical radiculopathy, previous cervical spine surgery * known cervical fracture or instability * vertebrobasilar insufficiency * systemic inflammatory disease affecting the cervical spine * pregnancy, traumatic brain injury, concussion * or any condition that contraindicated cervical manual examination or ultrasound imaging.

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Interfacet motion	immediate following manual assessment	Interfacet motion measured with MSK Ultrasound

Secondary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Passive Intervertebral motion assessment	immediate after primary outcome measure	Manual assessment of motion

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Jul 28, 2026