Manual Therapy to the Cervical Spine and Diaphragm Combined With Breathing Reeducation Exercises, in nsCNP Patients

NCT ID: NCT05229393

Last Updated: 2023-11-24

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

90 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2022-10-31

Study Completion Date

2023-11-21

Brief Summary

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Chronic neck pain (CNP) is reported to be one of the most common musculoskeletal pain syndromes. Studies showed that patients with chronic neck pain compensated with changes in Pain, Function, Musculoskeletal and Respiratory outcomes. The diaphragm is a primary respiratory muscle contributing to postural stability and spinal control. Many studies showed that manual therapy and exercise improve clinical and respiratory outcomes in CNP patients. Few studies highlight the importance of diaphragm manual therapy and Reeducation Breathing Exercises in musculoskeletal diseases and in CNP patients. However, the exact mechanism is still unclear. This study aims to examine the hypothesis that: "Diaphragm Manual Therapy and Breathing Reeducation Exercises combined with cervical manual therapy - improve clinical and respiratory outcomes more than cervical manual therapy intervention only or conventional physiotherapy

Detailed Description

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Chronic neck pain (CNP) may affect the physical, social, and psychological aspects of the individual, contributing to the increase in costs in society and business. Neck pain is a major cause of morbidity and disability in everyday life and at the workplace, in many different countries and populations, but its basic pathology and pathophysiology are still unclear.

CNP patients present respiratory dysfunction and pain presence is accompanied by a varying amount of decrements in several clinical outcomes affecting the neuromusculoskeletal system like disability, range of motion restriction, and decreased proprioception as well as neuromuscular control. However, the quality of life and psychology of patients with CNP are affected in parallel. The diaphragm is the most important respiratory muscle also contributing to postural stability and spinal control. Several studies have shown that diaphragm manual therapy and breathing retraining exercises can improve respiratory, as well as pain, function, and musculoskeletal outcomes in chronic low back pain. However, the effectiveness in patients with chronic neck pain has not been definitively determined in relation to other physical therapy interventions. The primary purpose of the present study is to determine further the effectiveness of Diaphragmatic Manual Therapy and Breathing Reeducation Exercises in CNP patients. The secondary purpose is to investigate the relationship between CNP, breathing dysfunction, pain, disability, and musculoskeletal clinical outcomes.

The present study is expected to recruit 90 patients with CNP. Patients with CNP will be randomly assigned to (1) Diaphragmatic Manual Therapy plus Cervical Manual Therapy plus Breathing Reeducation Exercises (2) Cervical Manual Therapy plus sham Diaphragmatic Manual Therapy and (3) Conventional Physiotherapy. Each participant will receive a particular intervention program depending on their group allocation. All participants will receive two evaluation sessions before and after the intervention.

Conditions

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Chronic Neck Pain

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Parallel Assignment
Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

DOUBLE

Investigators Outcome Assessors
the outcome assessor will be blind only for those outcomes that are not self-reported

Study Groups

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Diaphragmatic Manual Therapy Group A

Experimental: Diaphragmatic Manual Therapy plus Cervical Manual Therapy plus Breathing Reeducation Exercises group.

Cervical manual therapy will be the same as for the Manual Control Group (20 minutes).

Diaphragmatic Manual Therapy (10 minutes) and Breathing Reeducation Exercises (10 minutes). The program will be carried out three times per week lasting four weeks in total. Each session will last about 40 minutes.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Cervical plus Diaphragmatic Manual Therapy plus Breathing Reeducation Exercises

Intervention Type OTHER

Diaphragmatic Manual Therapy consists of techniques intended to indirectly stretch and mobilize the diaphragmatic muscle fibers. This will help to improve muscle contraction and decrease tension. The experimental maneuvers include the Doming Diaphragmatic Technique as described by Leon Chaitow, Lewit, and the Manual Diaphragmatic Release Technique as described by Leon Chaitow. Both maneuvers are performed in two sets of 10 repetitions, within a 1-minute interval.

Cervical Manual Therapy consists of vertebral mobilization techniques according to the Mulligan technique.

Breathing Reeducation Exercises consist of i) recognition of the abnormal breathing pattern, ii) relaxation techniques for all the primary and accessory respiratory muscles, iii) diaphragm breathing reeducation iv) pursed lips exercise v) reeducation of the normal breathing rate

Cervical Manual Therapy Group B

Sham Comparator: Sham Treatment group or Manual Control Group Patients included in this group will receive Cervical Manual Therapy (25 minutes) plus sham Diaphragmatic Manual techniques (15 minutes). The program will be carried out three times per week lasting four weeks in total. Each session will last about 40 minutes.

Group Type SHAM_COMPARATOR

Cervical Manual Therapy plus sham Diaphragmatic Manual Therapy

Intervention Type OTHER

Ultrasound sham as Diaphragmatic Manual techniques. Disconnected ultrasound will be applied in the same position as for the experimental group for 15 min as a placebo treatment.

Cervical Manual Therapy: will consist of vertebral mobilization techniques according to Mulligan -

Conventional Physiotherapy Program Group C

Active Comparator: Conventional Treatment group Patients included in this group will receive a conventional physiotherapy program with Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation-TENS (15 minutes) plus Microwave pulsed Diathermy (10 minutes), and soft tissue techniques (15 minutes).

The program will be carried out three sessions per week during the four weeks. Each session will last about 40 minutes.

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Conventional Physiotherapy Program

Intervention Type OTHER

Conventional Physiotherapy Program consists of TENS for 15min, Microwave pulsed Diathermy for 10min, soft tissue techniques for 15min

Interventions

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Cervical plus Diaphragmatic Manual Therapy plus Breathing Reeducation Exercises

Diaphragmatic Manual Therapy consists of techniques intended to indirectly stretch and mobilize the diaphragmatic muscle fibers. This will help to improve muscle contraction and decrease tension. The experimental maneuvers include the Doming Diaphragmatic Technique as described by Leon Chaitow, Lewit, and the Manual Diaphragmatic Release Technique as described by Leon Chaitow. Both maneuvers are performed in two sets of 10 repetitions, within a 1-minute interval.

Cervical Manual Therapy consists of vertebral mobilization techniques according to the Mulligan technique.

Breathing Reeducation Exercises consist of i) recognition of the abnormal breathing pattern, ii) relaxation techniques for all the primary and accessory respiratory muscles, iii) diaphragm breathing reeducation iv) pursed lips exercise v) reeducation of the normal breathing rate

Intervention Type OTHER

Cervical Manual Therapy plus sham Diaphragmatic Manual Therapy

Ultrasound sham as Diaphragmatic Manual techniques. Disconnected ultrasound will be applied in the same position as for the experimental group for 15 min as a placebo treatment.

Cervical Manual Therapy: will consist of vertebral mobilization techniques according to Mulligan -

Intervention Type OTHER

Conventional Physiotherapy Program

Conventional Physiotherapy Program consists of TENS for 15min, Microwave pulsed Diathermy for 10min, soft tissue techniques for 15min

Intervention Type OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Individuals who have pain for at least 3 months with non-specific mechanical neck pain
* Individuals voluntarily participating in the study
* Patients will also be selected on the basis of demonstrating DB in at least one of a series of tests conducted to assess the extent of their Dysfunctional Breathing (biomechanical, biochemical, psychological)

Exclusion Criteria

* Pregnancy

* Contraindications for manual therapy or inability to complete the treatment
* Patients who received physiotherapy or osteopathic treatment during the last 3 months
* Individuals with bronchial asthma, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, bronchiectasis and malignancy
* Medical diagnosis of rheumatologic disease
* Medical diagnosis of respiratory disease (COPD, asthma)
* Spine surgery (cervical, spinal, thoracic or abdominal region)
* Medical diagnosis of cancer (past or present)
* Whiplash injuries
* Previous cervical fracture
* Cervical anatomical changes
* Thrombotic events, Anaemia or Diabetes
* Body temperature greater than 37 degrees in the previous 48 hours
* Obesity (BMI greater than 40)
* Scoliosis or other diseases that cause spine and chest deformity
* Positive cervical region instability and positive vertebral artery test
* Individuals with neurological deficits or with motor loss
* Individuals who have whiplash injuries, osteoporosis, or rheumatoid disease (such as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, Sjögren's syndrome)
Minimum Eligible Age

25 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

65 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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University of West Attica

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Tatsios Petros

Phd cand., MSc, MSc, OMPT, CMP, Clinical Instructor Manual Therapy

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Locations

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Tatsios Petros

Glyfada, Athens, Greece

Site Status

Countries

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Greece

References

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Simoni G, Bozzolan M, Bonnini S, Grassi A, Zucchini A, Mazzanti C, Oliva D, Caterino F, Gallo A, Da Roit M. Effectiveness of standard cervical physiotherapy plus diaphragm manual therapy on pain in patients with chronic neck pain: A randomized controlled trial. J Bodyw Mov Ther. 2021 Apr;26:481-491. doi: 10.1016/j.jbmt.2020.12.032. Epub 2021 Feb 16.

Reference Type RESULT
PMID: 33992285 (View on PubMed)

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 RESULT
PMID: 25435700 (View on PubMed)

Genebra CVDS, Maciel NM, Bento TPF, Simeao SFAP, Vitta A. Prevalence and factors associated with neck pain: a population-based study. Braz J Phys Ther. 2017 Jul-Aug;21(4):274-280. doi: 10.1016/j.bjpt.2017.05.005. Epub 2017 May 20.

Reference Type RESULT
PMID: 28602744 (View on PubMed)

Cieza A, Causey K, Kamenov K, Hanson SW, Chatterji S, Vos T. Global estimates of the need for rehabilitation based on the Global Burden of Disease study 2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. Lancet. 2021 Dec 19;396(10267):2006-2017. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)32340-0. Epub 2020 Dec 1.

Reference Type RESULT
PMID: 33275908 (View on PubMed)

Koseki T, Kakizaki F, Hayashi S, Nishida N, Itoh M. Effect of forward head posture on thoracic shape and respiratory function. J Phys Ther Sci. 2019 Jan;31(1):63-68. doi: 10.1589/jpts.31.63. Epub 2019 Jan 10.

Reference Type RESULT
PMID: 30774207 (View on PubMed)

Peng B, Yang L, Li Y, Liu T, Liu Y. Cervical Proprioception Impairment in Neck Pain-Pathophysiology, Clinical Evaluation, and Management: A Narrative Review. Pain Ther. 2021 Jun;10(1):143-164. doi: 10.1007/s40122-020-00230-z. Epub 2021 Jan 12.

Reference Type RESULT
PMID: 33464539 (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 RESULT
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 RESULT
PMID: 17959320 (View on PubMed)

Dimitriadis Z, Podogyros G, Polyviou D, Tasopoulos I, Passa K. The Reliability of Lateral Photography for the Assessment of the Forward Head Posture Through Four Different Angle-Based Analysis Methods in Healthy Individuals. Musculoskeletal Care. 2015 Sep;13(3):179-186. doi: 10.1002/msc.1095. Epub 2015 Jan 30. No abstract available.

Reference Type RESULT
PMID: 25640070 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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UWestAttica300921

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id