Effectiveness of Global Postural Reeducation in Patients With Chronic Nonspecific Neck Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial

BACKGROUND CONTEXT:

Global Postural Reeducation (GPR) has shown positive results for patients with musculoskeletal disorders, but no previous randomized controlled trial (RCT) has investigated its effectiveness as the sole procedure for adult patients with chronic nonspecific NeckPain (NP).

PURPOSE:

We evaluated the effectiveness of applying GPR compared to a manual therapy (MT) intervention to patients with chronic nonspecific NP.

STUDY DESIGN:

RCT.

PATIENT SAMPLE:

94 patients, 72 women and 22 men, average age 47.5 ± 11.3 years, with chronic nonspecific NP were randomly assigned to receive a GPR or a MT treatment.

OUTCOME MEASURES:

Pain intensity [Visual Analogue Scale (VAS)], disability [Neck Disability Index (NDI)], cervical Range of Motion (ROM), and kinesiophobia [Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia (TSK)] were assessed.

METHODS:

The experimental group received GPR, whereas the reference group received MT. Both groups received nine 60-minutes long sessions with one-to-one supervision from physical therapists as the care providers. All subjects were asked to follow ergonomic advice and to perform home exercises. Measures were assessed at pre-treatment, at post-treatment and at a 6-months follow-up.

RESULTS:

No important baseline differences between groups. Subjects in the experimental GPR group exhibited a statistically significant reduction inpain at post-treatment (P=0.0043), and disability at six months after the intervention (P=0.0113), compared to the reference group.

CONCLUSIONS:

Our results suggest that GPR was more effective than MT for improving pain at post-treatment and disability at six month follow-up in patients with chronic nonspecific NP.

© 2016 American Physical Therapy Association.