Abstract
Objective
The purpose of this study was to identify the prognostic factors for individuals with
mechanical neck pain likely to experience improvements in both pain and disability
after the application of an intervention including cervical and thoracic spine thrust
manipulations.
Methods
Patients presenting with mechanical neck pain participated in a prospective single-arm
trial. Participants underwent a standardized examination and then received a series
of thrust manipulations directed toward the cervical, cervicothoracic, and thoracic
spine. Participants were classified as having achieved a successful outcome at the
second and third sessions based on their perceived recovery. Potential prognostic
variables were entered into a stepwise logistic regression model to determine the
most accurate set of variables for the prediction of treatment success.
Results
Data from 81 subjects were included in the analysis, of which 50 experienced a successful
outcome (61.7%). Five variables including pain intensity greater than 4.5 points;
cervical extension less than 46°; presence of hypomobility at T1; a negative upper
limb tension test and female sex were identified. If 4 of 5 variables were present
(likelihood ratio, +1.9), the likelihood of success increased from 61.7% to 75.4%.
Conclusions
This study identified several prognostic clinical factors that can potentially identify,
a priori, patients with neck pain who are likely to experience a rapid response to
the application of an intervention including both cervical and thoracic spine manipulations.
However, no combination of the variables was able to dramatically increase the posttest
probability.
Key Indexing Terms
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
February 10,
2011
Received in revised form:
February 2,
2011
Received:
November 2,
2010
Identification
Copyright
© 2011 National University of Health Sciences. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Access this article on ScienceDirectLinked Article
- ErratumJournal of Manipulative & Physiological TherapeuticsVol. 34Issue 7
- PreviewIn the article “Predictors for Identifying Patients With Mechanical Neck Pain Who Are Likely to Achieve Short-Term Success With Manipulative Interventions Directed at the Cervical and Thoracic Spine” by Saavedra-Hernández et al in the March/April 2011 issue (2011;34(3):144-52; doi:10.1016/j.jmpt.2011.02.011), the first author's last name was misspelled. The correct spelling is Saavedra-Hernández.
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