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Computerized mobilization of the cervical spine for the treatment of chronic neck pain
Yaron River1, Tamir Levital, Miles Belgrade
1Department of Neurology, Hillel Yaffe Medical Center, Hadera, Israel. yaron60@netvision.net.il
Background:
Manual therapies for chronic neck pain (NP) are imprecise, inconsistent, and brief because of therapist fatigue.
Objective:
Investigate the safety and efficacy of computerized mobilization of the cervical spine in the sagittal plane for the treatment of chronic NP.
Design:
Pilot open trial.
Setting:
: Physical therapy outpatient department.
Participants:
Ten patients with chronic NP.
Interventions:
A computerized cradle capable of 3-dimensional neck mobilization was utilized. However, in the present trial the cradle was only utilized in the sagittal plane. Treatment sessions lasted 20 minutes, biweekly, for 6 weeks.
Main Outcome Measures:
: Numerical rating scale for pain, Neck Disability Index questionnaire, muscle algometry, cervical range of motion (CROM), surface electromyography, and 36-item Short Form Health Survey questionnaire.
Results:
Treatment was not associated with any significant adverse effects. Pain scores reduced by 2 ± 0.5 numerical rating scale points. CROM showed significant improvement at the end of the study (P<0.05). Neck Disability Index showed marked improvement by the fourth week, end of study, and 2 weeks after treatment (P<0.05); headache subscale showed marked reduction.
Conclusions:
These preliminary results demonstrate the safety of a novel computerized mobilization of the cervical spine. In addition, the data suggest that this method is effective in increasing CROM and in alleviating NP and associated headache.
