Clinical Benefits of a Multimodal Physiotherapy Programme in Fighter Pilots With Flight-related Neck Pain
Overview
- Phase
- Not Applicable
- Intervention
- Not specified
- Conditions
- Neck Pain
- Sponsor
- Universidad de Extremadura
- Enrollment
- 31
- Locations
- 1
- Primary Endpoint
- Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS)
- Status
- Completed
- Last Updated
- 2 years ago
Overview
Brief Summary
The aim of this study was to analyse the immediate effects of a 4-week multimodal physiotherapy program which combines cervical supervised exercises with laser-guided feedback (ELGF) and interferential current electro massage (ICE) in fighter pilots with flight-related neck pain.
Detailed Description
Flight-related neck pain constitutes a clinical entity related to the performance and flight safety of fighter pilots. The aim of this study was to analyse the effectiveness of a multimodal physiotherapy program which combines supervised Exercise with Laser-Guided Feedback (ELGF) and Interferential Current Electro-Massage (ICE) in fighter pilots with flight-related neck pain. 31 pilots were randomly allocated into two groups (Experimental Group n=14; Control Group n = 17). The intervention consisted of 8 sessions (twice a week) for 4 weeks. As primary outcome measures the following variables were measured: perceived pain intensity (Numeric Pain Rating Scale) and neck disability (Neck Disability Index). The secondary outcome measures were: cervical range of movement (CRoM), joint position sense error (JPSE) and pressure pain threshold (PPT).
Investigators
Carlos Fernández-Morales
Principal Investigator
Universidad de Extremadura
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria
- •Flight pilots (male and female) who, at the time of the assessment, were an instructor or student attached to the 23th Wing of Talavera Air Base, Spanish Air Force (SAF), Badajoz.
- •Flight pilots diagnosed with flight-related neck pain according to the International Classification proposed by an expert panel of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).
- •A minimum perceived pain of 3/10 on the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) in the early-morning assessment.
- •Scores of ≥5 points on the Neck Disability Index (NDI), and a cervical-repositioning error of ≥4.5°.
Exclusion Criteria
- •Cervical pain with radiation to the upper limbs and/or radiculopathy.
- •Cervical spine surgery with or without the presence of a metal implant.
- •Having received physiotherapy or any other routine medical care six weeks prior to data collection.
- •Being involved in ongoing medical-legal conflicts.
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS)
Time Frame: 4 weeks.
Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS) is a 11-point numeric rating scale, where 0 denotes "no pain" and 10 denotes "the maximum bearable pain". The minimum clinically important difference (MCID) for this tool has been established at 1.5 points and the minimum detectable change (MDC) at 2.6 points, in individuals with neck pain. The NPRS is a valid scale with moderate test-retest reliability in this population (Intraclass Coefficient Correlation (ICC): 0.76, 95% CI 0.58 to 0.93).
Cervical Joint Position Sense Error (JPSE)
Time Frame: 4 weeks.
This test consists of a visual measurement of the error in moving the head to the initial neutral position after active cervical rotation.
Secondary Outcomes
- Standard Deviation 1 (SD1)(4 weeks.)
- Cervical Range of Motion (CRoM)(4 weeks.)
- Min_HR(4 weeks.)
- Max_HR(4 weeks.)
- Kinesophobia(4 weeks.)
- Sympathetic/parasympathetic ratio (S/PS)(4 weeks.)
- Stress Score(4 weeks.)
- Mean_HR(4 weeks.)
- pNN50(4 weeks.)
- Pressure Pain Threshold (PPT)(4 weeks.)
- Low Frequency Power (LF)(4 weeks.)
- Catastrophizing Pain(4 weeks.)
- Neck Disability Index (NDI)(4 weeks.)
- Standard Deviation 2 (SD2)(4 weeks.)
- Low/High Frequency ratio (HF/LF)(4 weeks.)
- High Frequency Power (HF)(4 weeks.)
- Myoelectric activity(4 weeks.)
- Root Mean Square of the Successive Differences (RMSSD)(4 weeks.)