Can osteopathic treatment alleviate symptoms of chronic non-specific neck pain?

摘要

AimTo test the hypothesis that osteopathic interventions are effective in alleviating symptoms from chronic nonspecific neck pain.DesignRCT.SettingSaxon Balneology and Rehabilitation Institute, Bad Elster, Germany.ParticipantsForty-one patients from an initial pool of 138 eligible people. All were between the ages of 20 and 55 years, and had suffered with neck pain for at least 3 months. All had to show four of seven osteopathic dysfunctions, and have a pain score of 4 or greater on a Numerical Rating Scale (NRS).InterventionExperimental treatment: Osteopathic interventions included a variety of techniques, including direct techniques (high-velocity, muscle energy and myofacscial release), indirect techniques (functional techniques, balanced ligamentous tension) and visceral/cranial techniques. Procedures were delivered according to the guidelines of the European College of Osteopathy, edition 1997/1998.Sham treatment: Sham ultrasound. Both groups received the sham ultrasound; the experimental group also received osteopathic treatment. Participants were treated for an average of 10 weeks, and were followed up at 12 weeks and 3 months.Main outcome measuresPain as measured on the NRS.Main resultsAverage pain intensity decreased from 4.7 to 2.2 in the experimental group (P < 0.0005) and from 4.8 to 4.0 in the control group (P = 0.09). Further slight but comparable reductions were observed at each follow-up session.Authors' conclusionThe results from this first rigorous RCT seem to confirm previous empirical findings and are in favour of an osteopathic treatment of chronic neck pain as a method with long-term effects on this frequently encountered condition.