Effects of Resistance Training on Pain, Function and Work Ability in Patients With Moderate to Severe Neck Pain

The purpose of this study is to investigate if high-intensity resistance training can induce additional beneficial effects, for patients with moderate to severe long term pain in the neck, when added to a multidisciplinary treatment program.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Neck Pain
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Multidisciplinary rehabilitation program; Behavioral: High-intensity resistance training; Behavioral: General physical activity

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 74
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Norway
  • Trondheim, Norway
    • St. Olavs University Hospital - Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 16 years to 65 years (Child, Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Referred to the multidisciplinary clinic for treatment of pain in the neck
• Long term (≥ 3months) or recurrent (≥ 2 periods of ≥ 4 weeks the past year) non-specific neck pain,
• Pain intensity ≥ 4 on numerical rating scale (0-10)

Exclusion Criteria:

• Severe somatic condition (unstable injury, malignity, infectious disease, active rheumatic disease, severe osteoporosis)
• Psychiatric condition/disease that severely impairs group functioning
• Insufficient comprehension of Norwegian language to participate in group sessions and fill out questionnaires
• Awaiting surgery of neck
• Alcohol or drug abuse
• Ongoing compensation case or applying for disability benefits due to pain in the neck
• Engaged in high-intensity resistance training on a regular basis the last 6 months
• Contra-indications for high-intensity resistance training (i.e. shoulder complications)

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: High-intensity resistance training; Full body, progressive strength training with Theraband® Elastic bands. Three times per week for 12 weeks - 3 weeks with supervised sessions at the clinic, and 9 weeks of home training.Three guided sessions will be offered during the home training period.	Behavioral: Multidisciplinary rehabilitation program; Behavioral: High-intensity resistance training
Active Comparator: General physical activity; 12 weeks of general physical activity - 3 weeks with supervised sessions at the clinic, and 9 weeks of individually adjusted home training. This include circle-training, low-intensity resistance exercises, endurance exercises, ball playing, body awareness, stretching, and relaxation techniques, and similar activities. Neither moderate nor high-intensity resistance exercise is included for participants in this group.Three guided sessions will be offered during the home training period.	Behavioral: Multidisciplinary rehabilitation program; Behavioral: General physical activity

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Neck-related disability as assessed by the neck disability index	Neck disability index	12 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Pain assessed by the Numerical Pain Rating Scale	3 and 12 weeks + 6 and 12 months
Fear avoidance beliefs assessed by Fear Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire	3 and 12 weeks + 6 and 12 months
Patient's' perceived effect of the treatment assessed by the Patient specific functioning scale	3 and 12 weeks + 6 and 12 months
Anxiety and depression assessed by Hopkins symptom checklist	3 and 12 weeks + 6 and 12 months
Quality of life assessed by EQ-5D-5L	3 and 12 weeks + 6 and 12 months
Work ability assessed by Work ability index	3 and 12 weeks + 6 and 12 months
Use of analgesics assessed by a questionnaire from the HUNT study	3 and 12 weeks + 6 and 12 months
Physical activity level assessed by a questionnaire from the HUNT study	3 and 12 weeks + 6 and 12 months
Strength in the neck measured using a handheld dynamometer	3 and 12 weeks + 6 and 12 months
Pressure pain threshold of the tibialis anterior muscle measured using an algometer	3 and 12 weeks + 6 and 12 months
Grip strength measured using a handheld dynamometer	3 and 12 weeks + 6 and 12 months
Patient's' perceived effect of the treatment assessed by the Global rating of change scale	3 and 12 weeks + 6 and 12 months
Neck-related disability as assessed by the neck disability index	3 weeks + 6 and 12 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Norwegian University of Science and Technology
• Collaborators: St. Olavs Hospital; Norwegian Fund for Postgraduate Training in Physiotherapy; Kommunal Landspensjonskasse
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Marius S Fimland, PhD, Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Iversen VM, Vasseljen O, Mork PJ, Fimland MS. Resistance training vs general physical exercise in multidisciplinary rehabilitation of chronic neck pain: A randomized controlled trial. J Rehabil Med. 2018 Aug 22;50(8):743-750. doi: 10.2340/16501977-2370.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): January 1, 2015
• Primary Completion (Actual): March 13, 2017
• Study Completion (Actual): March 13, 2017

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 18, 2015
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 14, 2015
• First Posted (Estimate): April 17, 2015

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): September 24, 2018
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 20, 2018
• Last Verified: September 1, 2018

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Exercise therapy; Resistance training; Multidisciplinary treatment
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pain; Neurologic Manifestations; Neck Pain
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2014/1157

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No