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

NCT ID: NCT03447977

Last Updated: 2025-05-29

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 46 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2018-06-01
• Study Completion Date: 2019-12-24

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.

Conditions

Neck Pain

Study Design

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

Study Groups

cervical group

cervical spinal mobilizations, exercises, 2 session for 6 weeks

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

cervical

Intervention Type: OTHER

cervical spine manual therapy

exercises

Intervention Type: OTHER

exercises for pain

thoracic group

cervical and thoracic spinal mobilizations, exercises, 2 session for 6 weeks

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

cervical

Intervention Type: OTHER

cervical spine manual therapy

thoracic

Intervention Type: OTHER

thoracic spine manual therapy

exercises

Intervention Type: OTHER

exercises for pain

exercise group

exercises, 2 session for 6 weeks

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

exercises

Intervention Type: OTHER

exercises for pain

Interventions

cervical

cervical spine manual therapy

Intervention Type: OTHER

thoracic

thoracic spine manual therapy

Intervention Type: OTHER

exercises

exercises for pain

Intervention Type: OTHER

Other Intervention Names

cervical spine mobilization; thoracic spine mobilizations

Eligibility Criteria

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

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 65 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

Hacettepe University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

SEVAL TAMER

Principal Investigator

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Seval Tamer, Mcs

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Hacettepe University Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation

Locations

Seval Tamer

Ankara, , Turkey (Türkiye)

Countries

Turkey (Türkiye)

References

Hwangbo PN, Hwangbo G, Park J, Lee S. The Effect of Thoracic Joint Mobilization and Self-stretching Exercise on Pulmonary Functions of Patients with Chronic Neck Pain. J Phys Ther Sci. 2014 Nov;26(11):1783-6. doi: 10.1589/jpts.26.1783. Epub 2014 Nov 13.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 25435700 (View on PubMed)

Wirth B, Amstalden M, Perk M, Boutellier U, Humphreys BK. Respiratory dysfunction in patients with chronic neck pain - influence of thoracic spine and chest mobility. Man Ther. 2014 Oct;19(5):440-4. doi: 10.1016/j.math.2014.04.011. Epub 2014 Apr 30.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 24835338 (View on PubMed)

Kapreli E, Vourazanis E, Strimpakos N. Neck pain causes respiratory dysfunction. Med Hypotheses. 2008;70(5):1009-13. doi: 10.1016/j.mehy.2007.07.050. Epub 2007 Oct 23.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 17959320 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

KA-17109

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id