Long-term effects of therapeutic exercise on nonspecific chronic neck pain: a literature review

• Published in: Journal of Physical Therapy Science Vol. 27; no. 4; pp. 1271 - 1276
• Main Authors: Cheng, Chih-Hsiu, Cheng, Hsin-Yi Kathy, Yen, Ling-Wei, Su, Hao-Tsung, Liu, Wen-Yu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan The Society of Physical Therapy Science 2015
• Subjects: Long-term effect; Nonspecific neck pain; Review; Therapeutic exercise; Nonspecific neck pain; Long-term effect; Therapeutic exercise
• ISSN: 0915-5287; 2187-5626; 2187-5626
• DOI: 10.1589/jpts.27.1271

[Purpose] Nonspecific neck pain is a common musculoskeletal disease. Therapeutic exercise has been shown to improve pain and disability in short-term and midterm follow-ups. This study performed a literature review of the long-term effects of therapeutic exercise on subjects with nonspecific chronic neck pain. [Subjects and Methods] The databases of the CINAHL, MEDLINE, PEDro and PubMed were used. Randomized controlled trials (RCT) published from January 2000 to January 2014 and explicitly including a one-year follow-up were identified. [Results] Only six articles were included in this review. They had scores of 5 to 8 points on the PEDro scale, and the level of evidence was grade I. The study results show that the main exercises used were cervical strengthening and endurance training exercise. Short-term exercises (10 to 12 weeks) helped to improve the body function, structure, activity and participation immediately after the intervention, but not at the long-term follow-up. On the other hand, long-term interventions (1 year) resulted in improvements in body function and structure at the 3 year follow-up. [Conclusion] The results of the six high-quality studies suggest that long-term exercise have long-term benefits for patients with nonspecific neck pain in terms of body function and structure.