Neck Muscle Activation in Patients With Long Standing Problems After a Whiplash Trauma Registered With Ultrasound With Speckle Tracking

Linköping University (LiU)

Status: Completed

Conditions: Whiplash Associated Disorder

Treatments: Other: Neck specific exercises

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT01547624

Ultrasound on neck muscles WAD

Details and patient eligibility

About

Today there is evidence for that neck specific exercises reduce neck pain problems in patients with mechanical neck pain. However, there is a lack of consensus on how to optimize neck exercises and dosages in neck rehabilitation. More knowledge is needed to determine which and how muscles are activated in exercises thought to be neck-specific. There is neither enough knowledge of differences in neck muscle activation between patients with long standing neck problems after a whiplash trauma and healthy controls nor if the neck muscle function improved with specific neck exercises. One approach would be a real time study of deformation and deformation rate in different layers of neck muscles in patients with residual long-term neck pain and disability after a whiplash trauma. The purpose of the present study was to investigate deformation and deformation rate in different layers of dorsal and ventral neck muscles (including upper and middle part of trapezius muscle) during rest and during different exercises; arm flexion until 120 degrees, repeated arm flexion until 90 degrees, low loaded neck extension, low loaded neck muscle endurance test, shoulder elevation. Forty patients with long standing (more than 6 months but less than 3 years)patients and 40 controls matched for age and gender will be included for comparisons between patients and healthy in neck muscle activation. The investigators also include 60 patients with whiplash trauma, of those 30 patients will be randomized to A. neck specific exercises in a 3 months period and B. will 30 be on a waiting list for 3 months. Measurements are performed at baseline and at 3 months follow-up. Those patients who fulfilled the 3 months period of neck specific exercises will also be asked for a 6 months follow-up.

Enrollment: 60 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 63 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• WAD II and III
• Age 18-63 years
• Remaining problems
• Right handed
• Pain on right or on both sides.

Exclusion criteria

• Myelopathy
• Earlier fracture or luxation of the cervical column, earlier neck injury
• Spinal tumour
• Spinal infection
• Surgery in the cervical column
• Malignity
• Systemic disease or other disease or another injury contraindicated to perform the treatment program or the measurements
• Diagnosed severe psychiatric disorder
• Unconscious in connection to the trauma
• Known drug abuse
• Lack of familiarity with the Swedish language

Trial design

Primary purpose: Diagnostic

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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60 participants in 3 patient groups

Neck Specific exercises

Experimental group

Description:

3 months of neck specific exercises for 30 patients.

Treatment:

Other: Neck specific exercises

Waiting list

No Intervention group

Description:

Thirty patients on the waiting list for 3 month before they have their intervention

Healthy controls

No Intervention group

Description:

Forty healthy controls. Comparisons between forty included WAD patients and 40 healthy controls matched for age and gender will be investigated at baseline.