Postural Garment Versus Exercises for Women With Cervical Pain

A Comparative Study of Postural Garment Versus Exercises for Women With Non-specific Cervical Pain: a Randomised Crossover Trial.

This study aim to compare a new postural garment (Posture Plus Force ®) versus exercises in women with non specific cervical pain. The investigators focus on nurses and allied health professionals due to the importance of posture in work related musculoskeletal disorders.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Cervical Pain; Posture
• Intervention / Treatment: Device: Posture garment; Other: Exercises

Detailed Description

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of a postural garment versus exercises in nurses with non-specific cervical pain.

DESIGN: Randomized cross over clinical trial with a 3 months sequence treatment and a 3 months washout period..

PARTICIPANTS: Nurses and allied health professionals with cervical pain aged 21 to 55 years.

INTERVENTIONS:

Participants are allocated at random to receive interventions in two groups:

• P+ : a postural garment (Posture Plus Force - FGP srl ® - Italy) to be worn from 2 to 4 hours per day, during 90 days.
• Ex: five physiotherapy sessions to learn stretching and strengthening exercises (20 minutes) with instructions to continue at home on a daily basis for 90 days.

The subjects in each group will be cross over after three months of wash out period.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:

The primary outcomes are postural control and pain intensity. Pictures on sagittal and frontal plane as well as measurements of static posturography with a scan (SpinalMouse ®) are conducted at T0 (pre-intervention), T1 immediately after garment fitting for P+ group and after the 5th session for Ex group, T30, T60 and T90 at day 30, day 60 and day 90 of follow-up. Pain is measured by visual analogue scale (VAS) on the same assessment days.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS:

Statistical analysis is conducted following intention-to-treat principles, and the treatment effects calculated using linear mixed models.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 70
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Andorra
  • Spanish
    • Escaldes-engordany, Spanish, Andorra, AD700
      • Hospital N Sra de Meritxell - Rehabilitation Department

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 21 years to 55 years (ADULT)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: Female

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Nurses and health allied professionals females with cervical pain
• Voluntarily signed informed consent
• Able to wear the garment and to do exercises and follow up assessments

Exclusion Criteria:

• Pregnancy
• Malignancy or other severe disease
• Cervical pain with significant extremity symptoms and/or neurological dysfunction (cervical radiculopathy and cervical spondylotic myelopathy)
• Unable to perform exercises
• Unwilling to do follow up assessments
• Psychiatric disorders

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: TREATMENT
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Interventional Model: CROSSOVER
• Masking: DOUBLE

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
EXPERIMENTAL: Posture Plus Force; Participants are provided with the posture garment. They have to wear it 2 to 4 h per day for a 3 month period. Participants receive a logbook that should be filled every day.	Device: Posture garment; Participants are provided with the appropriate size of a posture garment which includes thoracic and abdominal tensional bands. They are instructed to wear it 2 to 4 h per day for a 3 month period and record compliance in a logbook daily.
ACTIVE_COMPARATOR: Exercise; A physiotherapist teaches exercises to participants (5 sessions of 20 minutes each of stretching and strengthening exercises). Exercises are focused on cervical and dorsal areas, Participants receive instructions to continue at home on a daily basis for 3 months. Participants receive a logbook that should be filled every day.	Other: Exercises; 5 sessions of exercises of 20 minutes each. Participants have to do a set of cervical, dorsal and abdominal stretching and strengthening exercises. Participants receive instructions to continue at home on a daily basis for 3 months and record compliance in a logbook.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change from baseline cervical Pain measured with a visual analog scale at 3 months	Visual analogue scale is a psychometric measuring instrument designed to document cervical pain severity in individual subjects. It achieves a rapid (statistically measurable and reproducible) classification of symptom severity. A 100-mm long horizontal line with verbal descriptors is used to grade the amount of pain that a patient feels from no pain (left 0 mm) to an extreme amount of pain (right 100 mm).	Pain is assessed pre-intervention (Day 0) and at Month 3 of follow-up.
Change from baseline cervical Pain at 3 months (after the wash out period)	Visual analogue scale is a psychometric measuring instrument designed to document cervical pain severity in individual subjects. It achieves a rapid (statistically measurable and reproducible) classification of symptom severity. A 100-mm long horizontal line with verbal descriptors is used to grade the amount of pain that a patient feels from no pain (left 0 mm) to an extreme amount of pain (right 100 mm).	After the washout period, pain is assessed at baseline (Month 6) and after 3 months of intervention (Month 9)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Posture measured by angle of Kyphosis and angle of lordosis with a computerized device (SpinalMouse® )	SpinalMouse ® is a device that, combined with a computer program, assesses the curvatures of the spine without applying radiation. The device is guided manually on the skin along the spinous process apophysis from C7 to S3. The measuring head follows their contour in the sagittal plane and records clinically relevant data. A software program using an algorithm uses this information to calculate the angle of kyphosis and angle of lordosis. Data obtained have been proved to be reliable and accurate	Posture is assessed pre-intervention (Day 0))
Posture measured by angle of Kyphosis and angle of lordosis with a computerized device (SpinalMouse® )	SpinalMouse ® is a device that, combined with a computer program, assesses the curvatures of the spine without applying radiation. The device is guided manually on the skin along the spinous process apophysis from C7 to S3. The measuring head follows their contour in the sagittal plane and records clinically relevant data. A software program using an algorithm uses this information to calculate the angle of kyphosis and angle of lordosis. Data obtained have been proved to be reliable and accurate	Posture is assessed at Month 3 of follow-up.
Posture measured by angle of Kyphosis and angle of lordosis with a computerized device (SpinalMouse® )	SpinalMouse ® is a device that, combined with a computer program, assesses the curvatures of the spine without applying radiation. The device is guided manually on the skin along the spinous process apophysis from C7 to S3. The measuring head follows their contour in the sagittal plane and records clinically relevant data. A software program using an algorithm uses this information to calculate the angle of kyphosis and angle of lordosis. Data obtained have been proved to be reliable and accurate	Posture measurement is repeated after the 3-month washout period (Month 6)
Posture measured by angle of Kyphosis and angle of lordosis with a computerized device (SpinalMouse® )	SpinalMouse ® is a device that, combined with a computer program, assesses the curvatures of the spine without applying radiation. The device is guided manually on the skin along the spinous process apophysis from C7 to S3. The measuring head follows their contour in the sagittal plane and records clinically relevant data. A software program using an algorithm uses this information to calculate the angle of kyphosis and angle of lordosis. Data obtained have been proved to be reliable and accurate	Posture is assessed at Month 9 (end of study) after the washout period and the cross over 3 months intervention
Neck Disability Index	Cervical pain-related disability will be assessed with the validated Spanish version of Neck Disability Index. The Neck Disability Index is a ten-item questionnaire based on the Oswestry Low Back Pain Index that assesses disability associated with neck pain and whiplash. There are four items that relate to subjective symptomatology (pain intensity, headache, concentration, sleeping) and six items that relate to activities of daily living (lifting, work, driving, recreation, personal care, reading). The questionnaire is self and administered requires only 5-10 minutes to complete. It is scored from 0 (no disability) to 50 (maximum disability). Each subject select from one of six potential responses for each item ranging from no disability (0) to total disability (5). The ten items are summed to gain the total score.	Neck disability is assessed pre-intervention (Day 0)
Neck Disability Index	Cervical pain-related disability will be assessed with the validated Spanish version of Neck Disability Index. The Neck Disability Index is a ten-item questionnaire based on the Oswestry Low Back Pain Index that assesses disability associated with neck pain and whiplash. There are four items that relate to subjective symptomatology (pain intensity, headache, concentration, sleeping) and six items that relate to activities of daily living (lifting, work, driving, recreation, personal care, reading). The questionnaire is self and administered requires only 5-10 minutes to complete. It is scored from 0 (no disability) to 50 (maximum disability). Each subject select from one of six potential responses for each item ranging from no disability (0) to total disability (5). The ten items are summed to gain the total score.	Neck disability is assessed at Month 3 of follow-up.
Neck Disability Index	Cervical pain-related disability will be assessed with the validated Spanish version of Neck Disability Index. The Neck Disability Index is a ten-item questionnaire based on the Oswestry Low Back Pain Index that assesses disability associated with neck pain and whiplash. There are four items that relate to subjective symptomatology (pain intensity, headache, concentration, sleeping) and six items that relate to activities of daily living (lifting, work, driving, recreation, personal care, reading). The questionnaire is self and administered requires only 5-10 minutes to complete. It is scored from 0 (no disability) to 50 (maximum disability). Each subject select from one of six potential responses for each item ranging from no disability (0) to total disability (5). The ten items are summed to gain the total score.	Neck disability is repeated after the 3-month washout period (Month 6)
Neck Disability Index	Cervical pain-related disability will be assessed with the validated Spanish version of Neck Disability Index. The Neck Disability Index is a ten-item questionnaire based on the Oswestry Low Back Pain Index that assesses disability associated with neck pain and whiplash. There are four items that relate to subjective symptomatology (pain intensity, headache, concentration, sleeping) and six items that relate to activities of daily living (lifting, work, driving, recreation, personal care, reading). The questionnaire is self and administered requires only 5-10 minutes to complete. It is scored from 0 (no disability) to 50 (maximum disability). Each subject select from one of six potential responses for each item ranging from no disability (0) to total disability (5). The ten items are summed to gain the total score.	Neck disability is assessed at Month 9 (end of study) after the washout period and the cross over 3 months intervention
Pain Catastrophizing Scale	In order to assess the catastrophizing dimension related to pain, the Pain Catastrophizing Scale is used. It is a 13-item scale, with each item rated on a 5-point scale: 0 (Not at all) to 4 (all the time) that yields a total score and three subscale scores assessing rumination, magnification and helplessness. Total score ranges from 0 to 52. It is a self-report measurement tool that provided a valid index of catastrophizing in clinical populations.	Assessed pre-intervention (Day 0)
Pain Catastrophizing Scale	In order to assess the catastrophizing dimension related to pain, the Pain Catastrophizing Scale is used. It is a 13-item scale, with each item rated on a 5-point scale: 0 (Not at all) to 4 (all the time) that yields a total score and three subscale scores assessing rumination, magnification and helplessness. Total score ranges from 0 to 52. It is a self-report measurement tool that provided a valid index of catastrophizing in clinical populations.	Assessed at Month 3 of follow-up.
Pain Catastrophizing Scale	In order to assess the catastrophizing dimension related to pain, the Pain Catastrophizing Scale is used. It is a 13-item scale, with each item rated on a 5-point scale: 0 (Not at all) to 4 (all the time) that yields a total score and three subscale scores assessing rumination, magnification and helplessness. Total score ranges from 0 to 52. It is a self-report measurement tool that provided a valid index of catastrophizing in clinical populations.	Pain Catastrophizing scale is repeated after the 3-month washout period (Month 6)
Pain Catastrophizing Scale	In order to assess the catastrophizing dimension related to pain, the Pain Catastrophizing Scale is used. It is a 13-item scale, with each item rated on a 5-point scale: 0 (Not at all) to 4 (all the time) that yields a total score and three subscale scores assessing rumination, magnification and helplessness. Total score ranges from 0 to 52. It is a self-report measurement tool that provided a valid index of catastrophizing in clinical populations.	Catastrophizing is assessed at Month 9 (end of study) after the washout period and the cross over 3 months intervention

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Garment comfort	Garment comfort is evaluated with a 5-point Likert scale with the following anchors • 1 - Very dissatisfied • 2 - dissatisfied • 3 - unsure • 4 - satisfied • 5 - Very satisfied	garment comfort is assessed at Month 1 when allocated to the garment group intervention.
Garment comfort	Garment comfort is evaluated with a 5-point Likert scale with the following anchors • 1 - Very dissatisfied • 2 - dissatisfied • 3 - unsure • 4 - satisfied • 5 - Very satisfied	garment comfort is assessed at Month 3 when allocated to the garment group intervention.
Assessment of global perceived effect of treatment	Assessment of global perceived effect of treatment is performed with a Visual Analog Scale . Visual analogue scale is a psychometric measuring instrument designed to document perceived effect of the treatment in individual subjects. A 100-mm long horizontal line with verbal descriptors is used to grade the perceived effect that a patient feels from no improvement (left 0 mm) to an great improvement (right 100 mm).	Perceived effect of treatment is assessed at Month 3 of follow-up.
Assessment of global perceived effect of treatment	Assessment of global perceived effect of treatment is performed with a Visual Analog Scale . Visual analogue scale is a psychometric measuring instrument designed to document perceived effect of the treatment in individual subjects. A 100-mm long horizontal line with verbal descriptors is used to grade the perceived effect that a patient feels from no improvement (left 0 mm) to an great improvement (right 100 mm).	Perceived effect of treatment is assessed at Month 9 (end of study)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Andorra
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Merce Avellanet, MD, PhD, Universitat d'Andorra

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Avellanet M, Boada-Pladellorens A, Perrot JC, Loro L, Rodrigo Cansado L, Monterde D, Romagosa J, Gea E. Comparative Study of Postural Garment Versus Exercises for Patients With Nonspecific Cervical Pain: Protocol for a Randomized Crossover Trial. JMIR Res Protoc. 2020 Apr 16;9(4):e14807. doi: 10.2196/14807.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (ACTUAL): April 20, 2017
• Primary Completion (ACTUAL): January 1, 2019
• Study Completion (ACTUAL): January 30, 2021

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 3, 2018
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 15, 2018
• First Posted (ACTUAL): June 18, 2018

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (ACTUAL): February 8, 2021
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 5, 2021
• Last Verified: February 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: exercise; posture; cervical pain
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pain; Neurologic Manifestations; Neck Pain
• Other Study ID Numbers: UA001GRCSSS

Drug and device information, study documents

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