Original researchEffectiveness of the Pilates Method in the Treatment of Chronic Mechanical Neck Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial
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Study Design and Subjects
A randomized controlled trial was performed with a blinded assessor. The sample consisted of 64 individuals diagnosed with chronic mechanical neck pain who met the following inclusion criteria: (1) individuals from either sex; (2) aged 18 to 65 years old; (3) with pain for more than 3 months, according to the Neck Pain Task Force criteria4; (4) pain intensity between 3 and 8 cm on a 10 cm Numerical Pain Scale (NPS).
Excluded from the study were patients who had (1) a diagnosis of fibromyalgia;
Results
We initially recruited 244 individuals; 143 people did not meeting the inclusion criteria and 37 refused to participate. A total of 32 individuals were randomly included in each group. Two participants in the CG did not complete all of the scheduled assessments. One participant did not want to wait until the end of the study to start practicing Pilates, and another participant left the study due to a health problem unrelated to neck pain (brain aneurysm) (fig 1).
Regarding the collected data, 2
Discussion
The results of this trial show the benefit of Pilates for patients with chronic mechanical neck pain for pain, function, and some domains of quality of life. Pilates has therapeutic properties, and is often prescribed for individuals with chronic low back pain.13, 19 However, only a single pilot study using Pilates mat exercises for the treatment of chronic neck pain was found in the literature.23
The groups in the present study were homogeneous relative to the clinical characteristics at
Conclusion
The Pilates method program used in this trial improved pain, function, and quality of life, and reduced the use of analgesics in patients with chronic mechanical neck pain. Moreover, this method had no harmful effects on such patients.
Supplier
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SPSS, version 17.0; IBM.
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Cited by (0)
Clinical Trial Register No.: NCT02433821.