Search

Objective: We investigated whether adding lumbar motor control training with a pressure biofeedback unit improves outcomes of a conservative deep cervical flexor motor control program on neck pain, neck disability, deep cervical flexor endurance, and health status in middle-aged patients with chronic neck pain and forward head posture after eight weeks of interventions. Design: Randomized controlled trial. Setting: Outpatient setting. Subjects and interventions: A total of 113 males and females (mean age 39 ± 5 years) with chronic neck pain were randomized to three treatment groups, group 1 (n = 38) combined deep cervical flexor motor-control training and lumbar motor control exercise, group 2 (n = 37) deep cervical flexor motor control training alone, and group 3 (n = 38) passive treatment and education. Main outcome measures: Pain, neck disability, deep cervical flexor muscular endurance, and health status. Results: There were significant improvements in the combination group compared with the deep cervical flexor motor-control group alone (d = 2.03, 95% confidence interval (CI): −2.8 to −1.27, P = 0.021) for pain (d = −0.99, 95% CI = −1.75 to −0.23, P = 0.023), disability (d = 1.92, 95% CI = 0.86 to 2.98, P = 0.001), deep cervical flexor endurance, and (d = −2.75, 95% CI = −8.81 to −1.68, P = 0.037) for health status favoring the combination group. There were significant between-group differences favoring both active groups versus the passive control in all out comes. Conclusion: The addition of Lumbar motor control training as a complementary treatment may enhance effectiveness of deep cervical flexor motor control training on neck pain, neck disability, and deep cervical flexor endurance in patients with chronic moderate neck pain and forward head posture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate if adding Kinesio tape to therapeutic exercise is an effective treatment to improve clinical outcomes compared to therapeutic exercise alone and no intervention, in patients with shoulder impingement syndrome. Design: Three-arm randomized controlled trial Setting: Outpatient setting Subjects: One hundred and twenty patients (mean (SD): age 37.8 (5.4)) with shoulder impingement syndrome. Intervention: Patients were randomly assigned to eight-weeks therapeutic exercise alone, therapeutic exercise with Kinesio tape, and control group. Main measures: Pain was measured with a numerical rating scale and disability and scapular kinematics were measured with a relative questionnaire and motion analysis software respectively, at baseline and after eight-weeks intervention. Results: There was significant differences in therapeutic exercise with Kinesio tape group vs. therapeutic exercise alone and control group respectively for pain (d = –0.34, P = 0.042; and d = –1.53, P = 0.001), disability (d = –0.46, P = 0.024; and d = –2.18, P = 0.001), scapular upward rotation at sagittal plane (d = 0.33, P = 0.033; and d = 0.68, P = 0.001), scapular plane (d = 0.18, P = 0.045; and d = 0.43, P = 0.001), scapular tilt at sagittal plane (d = 0.55, P = 0.043; and d = 1.39, P = 0.001), and scapular plane (d = 0.29, P = 0.034; and d = 0.58, P = 0.001). Therapeutic exercise alone was superior over control group in all significant outcomes (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Although therapeutic exercises alone showed positive effect on clinical outcomes, adding Kinesio tape to therapeutic exercises had more significant effects with larger effect sizes. Adding Kinesio tape to therapeutic exercise may be of some assistance to clinicians in improving clinical outcomes in patients with shoulder impingement syndrome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]