Patient education for neck pain.

Area of Science:

• Orthopedics
• Rehabilitation Medicine
• Evidence-Based Practice

Background:

• Neck disorders are prevalent, causing significant disability and economic burden.
• The efficacy of current patient education strategies for neck pain remains uncertain.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the short- and long-term effects of therapeutic patient education (TPE) strategies.
• To assess TPE's impact on pain, function, disability, quality of life, and patient-reported outcomes in adults with various types of neck pain.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published up to July 2010.
• Searched major bibliographic databases for eligible studies.
• Independent review authors assessed study selection, data abstraction, and risk of bias; meta-analysis was not performed due to heterogeneity.

Main Results:

• Moderate evidence suggests an educational video on activation may benefit acute whiplash pain in the intermediate term, but not long-term.
• Low to very low quality evidence indicates limited or no benefit for TPE strategies including activation pamphlets, pain/stress coping advice, workplace ergonomics, and self-care for various neck pain conditions.
• One trial showed low-quality evidence favoring specific exercise training over TPE for chronic neck pain at short-term follow-up.

Conclusions:

• This review found limited evidence supporting the effectiveness of most TPE interventions for neck pain, except for potentially one activation-focused educational video.
• Future research should incorporate established adult learning principles and skill acquisition theories.
• Further investigation is needed to identify effective educational strategies for managing neck pain.