Effects of neck coordination exercise on sensorimotor function in chronic neck pain: a
randomized controlled trial
Sammanfattning
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of neck coordination exercise on sensorimotor function in
women with neck pain compared with best-available treatment and sham treatment.
DESIGN: Observer-blinded randomized controlled trial with short-term and 6-month follow-ups.
SUBJECTS: Women with chronic non-specific neck pain were randomized to 3 groups: neck
coordination exercise with a novel training device; strength training for the neck and shoulders; or
massage. Each group had 36 participants.
METHODS: The intervention period was 11 weeks with 22 individually supervised sessions. Primary
outcomes were postural sway measures and precision of goal-directed arm movements. Secondary
outcomes were range of motion for the neck, peak speed of axial rotation, and neck pain. A repeated
measures multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was conducted separately on the primary
outcomes for the short-term and 6-month evaluations and on the sensorimotor secondary outcomes
for the 6-month effect. The 6-month effect on pain was analysed with a repeated measures analysis of
variance (ANOVA).
RESULTS: No significant treatment effects in favour of neck coordination exercise were found for
short-term or 6-month evaluations.
CONCLUSION: Neck coordination exercise is no better than strength training and massage in
improving sensorimotor function. Further research should investigate the use of cut-offs for
sensorimotor dysfunctions prior to proprioceptive or coordinative training.