Predictive Factors for Clinical Improvement Following a Manual Therapy-Based Program in Patients with Neck Pain: A...

Area of Science:

• Orthopedics
• Rehabilitation Medicine
• Clinical Epidemiology

Background:

• Neck pain (NP) is a common condition impacting quality of life.
• Manual therapy (MT)-based physiotherapy is a frequent treatment approach for NP.
• Identifying predictors of treatment success can optimize patient care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To derive and validate a clinical prediction rule (CPR) for short-term improvement in NP patients.
• To identify baseline factors associated with positive outcomes in MT programs.
• To inform personalized rehabilitation strategies for neck pain.

Main Methods:

• Prospective cohort study of 71 NP patients (18-65 years) receiving 3 weeks of MT.
• Baseline assessments included pain, disability, body mass, physical activity, anxiety, depression, and satisfaction.
• Logistic regression and ROC analysis were used to develop the predictive model.

Main Results:

• 78.9% of patients showed moderate to complete improvement.
• Higher body mass (BM ≥ 76.5 kg) and lower Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ score ≤ 42.5) predicted improvement.
• The combined predictors yielded a 96.43% probability of clinical improvement (LR+ = 7.58).

Conclusions:

• Higher body mass and lower MSQ scores are associated with better short-term outcomes in NP patients treated with MT.
• Integrating physical and psychosocial factors is crucial for effective NP rehabilitation.
• External validation of the derived CPR is necessary before clinical use.