Effects of Sling-Based Thoracic Active Exercise on Pain and Function and Quality of Life in Female Patients with Neck Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Gun-Woo Park,Jungae An,Sang-Woo Kim,Byoung-Hee Lee

doi:10.3390/healthcare9111514

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the effects of sling-based thoracic active exercise on pain, function, and quality of life in female patients with neck pain. A total of 27 female patients with neck pain were divided into the sling-based thoracic active exercise group (n = 14) and the control group (n = 13). The study group performed a sling-based thoracic active exercise with cervical manual therapy for 50 min a day, twice a week for 4 weeks, whereas the control group performed a placebo exercise with cervical manual therapy in the same manner as the study group. Evaluation of the degree of pain before and after treatment was based on the pressure pain threshold and numeric pain rating scale scores. The craniovertebral angle and neck disability index (NDI) were used to evaluate neck function, and quality of life was measured using the Short Form-36. Afterwards, the patients’ pressure pain thresholds were significantly increased, and the numeric pain rating scale score was significantly decreased in both groups (p < 0.05). In terms of function, the craniovertebral angle was significantly increased in both groups (p < 0.05), and neck dysfunction significantly decreased (p < 0.05). The quality of life significantly increased in both groups (p < 0.05). The pressure pain threshold, craniovertebral angle, neck dysfunction index, and quality of life scores (p < 0.05) were significantly different between groups, except the numeric pain scale score. Our results showed that sling-based thoracic active exercise is effective in reducing pain and improving function and quality of life in female patients with neck pain, thus emphasizing the need for thoracic treatment for such patients.

Highlights

In the modern world, the use of digital devices and the average daily use time are rapidly increasing, with 81.1% of the Korean adult population using smartphones [1].Owing to prolonged unstable posture, muscle stiffness, and lack of exercise, 8 out of 10 individuals are at risk for musculoskeletal disorders at least once in their lifetime [2].Neck pain, a typical musculoskeletal symptom, occurs more than once, and the rate of neck pain in one year in the adult population is 16.7–75.1%, with a lifetime prevalence of 14.2–71%, and the average rate is 48.5% [3]
The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of sling-based thoracic active exercise on pain, function, and quality of life in female patients with neck pain
Our results showed that sling-based thoracic active exercise is effective in reducing pain and improving function and quality of life in female patients with neck pain

Summary

Introduction

The use of digital devices and the average daily use time are rapidly increasing, with 81.1% of the Korean adult population using smartphones [1]. A typical musculoskeletal symptom, occurs more than once, and the rate of neck pain in one year in the adult population (aged 15–74 years) is 16.7–75.1%, with a lifetime prevalence of 14.2–71%, and the average rate is 48.5% [3]. In Korea, the number of patients who visited the hospital because of neck pain in 2010–2019 increased by 41% [4], and 15–22% of patients have experienced neck pain for more than 5 years after the onset. Studies on quality of life in relation to chronic diseases and health in Korea found that neck pain greatly influences the quality of life of patients with musculoskeletal disorders [8]

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Conclusion