Effects of Cervical Stabilization Exercise in Violinists With Chronic Neck Pain

Cervical Stabilization Exercises Improved Pain, Disability, and Physical Impairments in University Violinists With Nonspecific Neck Pain

The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of a 6-week cervical stabilization exercise program in university violin players with chronic nonspecific neck pain.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Neck Pain
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Cervical stabilization exercise

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 24
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Taiwan
  • Tainan City, Taiwan, 701
    • National Cheng Kung University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 25 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• duration of playing the instrument longer than 5 years
• practicing the violin more than 5 hours/week
• constant neck pain for more than 3 months or at least 2 pain episodes in the last 3 months

Exclusion Criteria:

• previous surgery in the neck and shoulder regions
• current participation in a structured exercises program
• current treatment for neck and shoulder pain
• red flags suggesting of cancer, infection, vascular insufficiency, and etc. during history taking
• neurological symptoms of the upper extremities during screening tests (e.g. Spurling test and upper limb tension tests)

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Treatment; Exercise	Other: Cervical stabilization exercise; The participants followed instructional videos and performed the cervical stabilization exercise program at home for 20 minutes/day, 3 days/week, for 6 weeks.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Changes in self-reported neck pain: Numeric Rating Scale	Measured by the Numeric Rating Scale (min 0-max 10, better outcome 0 worst outcome 10)	Pre-test 1 (week 0), Pre-test 2 (week 4) and Post-test (week 10)
Changes in neck disability	Measured by the Neck Disability Index (10-item questionnaire, each item scored from 0 to 5, result expressed as percentage, better outcome 0 worst outcome 100%)	Pre-test 1 (week 0), Pre-test 2 (week 4) and Post-test (week 10)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Changes in deep neck flexors function	Measured by the craniocervical flexion test with a pressure biofeedback unit (higher pressure represents better outcome)	Pre-test 1 (week 0), Pre-test 2 (week 4) and Post-test (week 10)
Changes in cervical muscle endurance	Measured using a stopwatch for the successful time holding the head in cervical flexion and extension positions (longer time represent better outcome)	Pre-test 1 (week 0), Pre-test 2 (week 4) and Post-test (week 10)
Changes in cervical joint position sense	Measured by the cervcal joint reposition error with a laser pointer (short distance represent better outcome)	Pre-test 1 (week 0), Pre-test 2 (week 4) and Post-test (week 10)
Changes in upper body posture	Evaluated by the photographic method	Pre-test 1 (week 0), Pre-test 2 (week 4) and Post-test (week 10)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: National Cheng Kung University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Yi-Ju Tsai, Ph.D., National Cheng Kung University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): June 12, 2018
• Primary Completion (Actual): September 1, 2018
• Study Completion (Actual): October 31, 2018

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 3, 2019
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 8, 2019
• First Posted (Actual): August 9, 2019

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): September 21, 2023
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 19, 2023
• Last Verified: September 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: cervical stabilization exercise
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pain; Neurologic Manifestations; Neck Pain
• Other Study ID Numbers: NationalCheng-KungU (Registry Identifier: National Cheng-Kung University Hospital Clinical Trial Center)

Drug and device information, study documents

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