Neck Muscle Activation in Patients With Long Standing Problems After a Whiplash Trauma Registered With Ultrasound With Speckle Tracking

NCT ID: NCT01547624

Last Updated: 2017-03-13

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 60 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2011-02-28
• Study Completion Date: 2015-12-31

Brief Summary

Today there is evidence for that neck specific exercises reduce neck pain problems in patients with mechanical neck pain. However, there is a lack of consensus on how to optimize neck exercises and dosages in neck rehabilitation. More knowledge is needed to determine which and how muscles are activated in exercises thought to be neck-specific. There is neither enough knowledge of differences in neck muscle activation between patients with long standing neck problems after a whiplash trauma and healthy controls nor if the neck muscle function improved with specific neck exercises. One approach would be a real time study of deformation and deformation rate in different layers of neck muscles in patients with residual long-term neck pain and disability after a whiplash trauma. The purpose of the present study was to investigate deformation and deformation rate in different layers of dorsal and ventral neck muscles (including upper and middle part of trapezius muscle) during rest and during different exercises; arm flexion until 120 degrees, repeated arm flexion until 90 degrees, low loaded neck extension, low loaded neck muscle endurance test, shoulder elevation. Forty patients with long standing (more than 6 months but less than 3 years)patients and 40 controls matched for age and gender will be included for comparisons between patients and healthy in neck muscle activation. The investigators also include 60 patients with whiplash trauma, of those 30 patients will be randomized to A. neck specific exercises in a 3 months period and B. will 30 be on a waiting list for 3 months. Measurements are performed at baseline and at 3 months follow-up. Those patients who fulfilled the 3 months period of neck specific exercises will also be asked for a 6 months follow-up.

Conditions

Whiplash Associated Disorder

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: DIAGNOSTIC
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Study Groups

Neck Specific exercises

3 months of neck specific exercises for 30 patients.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Neck specific exercises

Intervention Type: OTHER

Neck specific exercises 2 times/week for 3 month at a physiotherapist. Home exercises.

Waiting list

Thirty patients on the waiting list for 3 month before they have their intervention

Group Type: NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Healthy controls

Forty healthy controls. Comparisons between forty included WAD patients and 40 healthy controls matched for age and gender will be investigated at baseline.

Group Type: NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

Neck specific exercises

Neck specific exercises 2 times/week for 3 month at a physiotherapist. Home exercises.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Other Intervention Names

Physiotherapy with neck specific exercises

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• WAD II and III
• Age 18-63 years
• Remaining problems
• Right handed
• Pain on right or on both sides.

Exclusion Criteria

• Myelopathy
• Earlier fracture or luxation of the cervical column, earlier neck injury
• Spinal tumour
• Spinal infection
• Surgery in the cervical column
• Malignity
• Systemic disease or other disease or another injury contraindicated to perform the treatment program or the measurements
• Diagnosed severe psychiatric disorder
• Unconscious in connection to the trauma
• Known drug abuse
• Lack of familiarity with the Swedish language

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 63 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

Linkoeping University

OTHER_GOV

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Anneli Peolsson

Assoc. Prof., PhD, MSC PT

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Anneli Peolsson, Assoc. Prof.

Role: STUDY_CHAIR

Linkoeping University

Locations

Anneli Peolsson

Linköping, Östergötland County, Sweden

Countries

Sweden

References

Peolsson A, Landen Ludvigsson M, Tigerfors AM, Peterson G. Effects of Neck-Specific Exercises Compared to Waiting List for Individuals With Chronic Whiplash-Associated Disorders: A Prospective, Randomized Controlled Study. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2016 Feb;97(2):189-95. doi: 10.1016/j.apmr.2015.10.087. Epub 2015 Oct 26.

Reference Type: DERIVED

PMID: 26514296 (View on PubMed)

Landen Ludvigsson M, Peterson G, Jull G, Trygg J, Peolsson A. Mechanical properties of the trapezius during scapular elevation in people with chronic whiplash associated disorders--A case-control ultrasound speckle tracking analysis. Man Ther. 2016 Feb;21:177-82. doi: 10.1016/j.math.2015.07.009. Epub 2015 Aug 5.

Reference Type: DERIVED

PMID: 26277485 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

Ultrasound on neck muscles WAD

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id