Manual therapy
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Comparative short-term effects of two thoracic spinal manipulation techniques in subjects with chronic mechanical neck pain: a randomized controlled trial.
Spinal Manipulation (SM) has been purported to decrease pain and improve function in subjects with non-specific neck pain. Previous research has investigated which individuals with non-specific neck pain will be more likely to benefit from SM. It has not yet been proven whether or not the effectiveness of thoracic SM depends on the specific technique being used. ⋯ Both maneuvers improved neck mobility and mechanosensitivity and reduced pain in the short term. No major or clinical differences were found between the groups. In the between-groups comparison slightly better results were observed in the Toggle-Recoil group only for cervical extension (p = 0.009), right lateral flexion (p = 0.004) and left rotation (p < 0.05).
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Immediate effects of active cranio-cervical flexion exercise versus passive mobilisation of the upper cervical spine on pain and performance on the cranio-cervical flexion test.
This study compared the immediate effects of an assisted plus active cranio-cervical flexion exercise (exercise group) versus a passive mobilisation plus assisted cranio-cervical flexion (mobilisation group) on performance of the cranio-cervical flexion test (CCFT), cervical range of motion (ROM) and pain in patients with chronic neck pain. Eighteen volunteers with chronic idiopathic neck pain participated in the study and were randomised to one of the two intervention groups. Current level of pain, cervical ROM and pain perceived during movement, pressure pain threshold (PPT) and surface electromyography (EMG) during performance of the CCFT were measured before and immediately after the intervention. ⋯ No change in cervical ROM was observed after either intervention. Reduced sternocleidomastoid and anterior scalene EMG amplitude were observed during stages of the CCFT but only for the participants in the active exercise group. Although both active and passive interventions offered pain relief, only the exercise group improved on a task of motor function highlighting the importance of specific active treatment for improved motor control of the cervical spine.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Outcomes of osteopathic manual treatment for chronic low back pain according to baseline pain severity: results from the OSTEOPATHIC Trial.
To assess response to osteopathic manual treatment (OMT) according to baseline severity of chronic low back pain (LBP). ⋯ The large effect size for OMT in providing substantial pain reduction in patients with chronic LBP of high severity was associated with clinically important improvement in back-specific functioning. Thus, OMT may be an attractive option in such patients before proceeding to more invasive and costly treatments.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Effectiveness of Diacutaneous Fibrolysis for the treatment of subacromial impingement syndrome: a randomised controlled trial.
Our objective was to assess the effectiveness of Diacutaneous Fibrolysis on pain intensity, range of motion and functional status in patients suffering from Subacromial Impingement Syndrome. A randomised controlled trial was conducted in two Spanish National Health Service Primary Health Care Centres. Participants (n = 120) were randomly assigned to one of three groups (intervention, placebo or control groups). ⋯ At the 3 month follow-up assessment, between-groups differences were not statistically significant and clinical relevance was achieved only for external rotation movement between intervention and control groups. At the post-treatment assessment 89% of the participants in the intervention group, 76% of the participants in the placebo group and 67% of the participants in the control group reported subjective improvement (p < 0.01). In conclusion, adding Diacutaneous Fibrolysis to the conservative treatment of Subacromial Impingement Syndrome improves function and external rotation movements and also gives significantly higher patient satisfaction.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
The effectiveness of Long's manipulation on patients with chronic mechanical neck pain: a randomized controlled trial.
Long's manipulation (LM) is a representative Chinese manipulation approach incorporating both spinal manipulation and traditional Chinese massage (TCM) techniques. This randomized controlled trial (RCT) aimed to compare the immediate and short-term relative effectiveness of LM to TCM on patients with chronic neck pain. Patients were randomly assigned to either LM group or TCM group. ⋯ LM group achieved significantly greater improvement than TCM group in pain intensity (p < 0.001), neck disability (p = 0.049) and satisfaction (p < 0.001) up to 3-month follow-up. There was no significant difference in improvements in CV angle and most of cervical ROM between groups (p = 0.169 ∼ 0.888) with an exception of flexion at 3-month follow-up (p = 0.005). This study shows that LM could produce better effects than TCM in relieving pain and improving disability in the management of patients with chronic mechanical neck pain.