Effectiveness of manual therapy (according to the dutch school for Manual Therapy Utrecht) and physical therapy in patients with subacute and chronic non-specific neck pain. A randomized clinical trial.

Manual Therapy applied to patients with non-specific neck pain has been investi-gated several times, both internationally and within the Netherlands. In the Netherlands different types of manual therapy treatment exist. To date Manual Therapy as practiced under the Utrecht School (one of the existing kinds) hasn’t been subject of a randomised controlled trial. There is a need to evaluate the effectiveness of this type of manual therapy.



Objective of the study: The RCT will investigate the effectiveness of Manual Therapy according to the Utrecht School of Manual Therapy in the short and long-term up to 52 weeks in patient with sub acute (minimal two weeks) and chronic (maximum 52 weeks) since last episode of neck pain. Functional state, pain and global perceived effect will be measured.



Study design: The study is a single blind randomized controlled trial.


Study population: Men and women aged 18 to 70 years with neck pain for at least two weeks.



Intervention: The experimental group will be treated with manual therapy for a period of six weeks. The control group will be treated with physical therapy (usual care) also for a period of six weeks.



Primary study parameters / outcome of the study: Global Perceived Effect (GPE) and the NDI-DV (Neck disability index) will be applied.

Secondary study parameters / outcome of the study: VAS (Visual Analogue Scale) for pain and SF36 (Quality of life). The MHLC (Multidimensional Health Locus of Control), credibility/ expectancy questionnaire, FABQ-DLV (Fear Avoid-ance Beliefs Questionnaire) will be measured to answer secondary questions.

Data will be collected at baseline, 3, 7, 13, 26 and 52 weeks.

N/A

0-3-7-13-26-52 weeks

Manual therapy (according to the dutch school for Manual Therapy Utrecht) and physical therapy (usual care)