Clinical Benefits of a Multimodal Physiotherapy Programme in Fighter Pilots With Flight-related Neck Pain

NCT05541848 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 03
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 31
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

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.

Conditions

Neck Pain

Keywords

fighter pilots; flight-related neck pain; disability; electric massage; Therapeutic exercise

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS)

  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).

  4 weeks.

• Cervical Joint Position Sense Error (JPSE)

  This test consists of a visual measurement of the error in moving the head to the initial neutral position after active cervical rotation.

  4 weeks.

Secondary Outcomes (18)

• Cervical Range of Motion (CRoM)

  4 weeks.

• Pressure Pain Threshold (PPT)

  4 weeks.

• Standard Deviation 1 (SD1)

  4 weeks.

• Standard Deviation 2 (SD2)

  4 weeks.

• Min_HR

  4 weeks.

Study Arms (2)

Control group

NO INTERVENTION

Participants in the control group will not receive any intervention and will continue with their normal combat and flight exercise activities. They will be asked not to take medication or seek alternative treatments.

Experimental group

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants in the experimental group will follow a supervised ELGF program. Subsequently, they will receive an intervention based on manual therapy combined with electrical stimulation called electro-massage.

Other: Cervical supervised exercises with laser-guided feedback (ELGF); Other: Interferential current electro massage (ICE)

Interventions

Cervical supervised exercises with laser-guided feedback (ELGF) OTHER

Cervical supervised exercises with laser-guided feedback (ELGF) is defined as a procedure of proprioceptive training based on a type of therapeutic exercise that provides external feedback to exercise, achieving an improvement in range of motion and postural control in subjects with spinal pain. For the performance of the exercise program, "Motion Guidance Clinician Kit" (Motion Guidance LLC, Denver, CO, USA.) was used. The program consisted of 4 exercises, which progressed in difficulty according to the tolerance achieved over the course of the sessions: a) Maintaining the head position (cervical stabilisation); b) Cervical flexion-extension; c) Right-left rotations; d) Right-left lateral-flexions. Each exercise consisted of 4 series of 8 repetitions, except the first one, in which the head position is maintained by pointing the laser at the centre of the panel for 30 seconds (4 series). The average time to complete the entire program did not exceed 14 minutes.

Experimental group

Interferential current electro massage (ICE) OTHER

Interferential current electro-massage (ICE) is defined as a technique which combines simultaneously manual therapy (massage) and ICT. We used a current bipolar mode, using a carrier frequency of 4000 Hz at constant voltage and an amplitude-modulated frequency of 100 Hz (Sonopuls 692®; Enraf-Nonius BV, Rotterdam, The Netherlands), was administered. The intensity was set to provide a strong and comfortable tingling, without evoking muscle twitches even though a slight vibration (fasciculation) was allowed. The sequence combined (A) superficial stroke over the neck-shoulder for 30-45 seconds; (B) deep sliding movements, alone or (C) combined with shoulder drop, for 4-5 minutes; (D) bilateral kneading of the upper trapezius (4-5 minutes); (E) slight stretching of cervical muscles (upper trapezius, sternocleidomastoid, and levator scapulae); and repetition of step (A). The electro-massage protocol lasted 15 minutes.

Experimental group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 65 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• 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°.

You may not qualify if:

• 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.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Universidad de Extremadura: lead

Study Sites (1)

University of Extremadura

Badajoz, 06006, Spain

Location

Related Publications (23)

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MeSH Terms

Conditions

Neck Pain

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Pain; Neurologic Manifestations; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Study Officials

• Luis Espejo-Antúnez, PhD

  University of Extremadura

  STUDY DIRECTOR

• Carlos Fernández-Morales, PT, MSc

  University of Extremadura

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: DOUBLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, CARE PROVIDER
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Principal Investigator

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: September 12, 2022
• First Posted: September 15, 2022
• Study Start: September 15, 2022
• Primary Completion: October 11, 2022
• Study Completion: December 14, 2022
• Last Updated: March 20, 2024

Record last verified: 2024-03

Locations

ES (1)