Comparative Effectiveness Randomised Controlled Trial of Hybrid Muscle Conditioning
Not yet recruitingNot applicableNCT07837414
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This study has no listed site in Canada in this snapshot. It is included as part of the worldwide chronic pain corpus.
Brief summary (from the registry)
Chronic nonspecific neck pain is a prevalent and recurrent condition frequently characterised by persistent impairments in cervical-scapular neuromuscular function. Deep cervical flexor motor-control deficits and reduced upper trapezius endurance represent two clinically relevant but distinct manifestations of neuromuscular dysfunction. Deep cervical flexor motor-control exercise targets cervical segmental control and movement coordination, while upper trapezius endurance exercise targets at the mechanical capacity of the cervical-scapular system. Although both exercise approaches have demonstrated clinical benefit when used independently, it remains unknown whether combining these two exercises as compared to single-exercise approach would provide additional or synergistic effects on the clinical recovery for individuals with chronic nonspecific neck pain. This three-arm comparative randomised controlled trial will investigate a 5-week hybrid programme combining deep cervical flexor motor-control and upper trapezius endurance exercise as compared to their single-exercise comparator programme (i.e., deep cervical flexor motor-control exercise alone or upper trapezius endurance exercise alone) in managing the clinical recovery of adults with chronic nonspecific neck pain. Two hundred and ten participants will be randomly allocated to one of the three groups (70 participants per group) upon the completion of the baseline evaluation of the study outcomes. All programmes will use standardised exercise procedures, individualised progression, supervised instruction, and structured home exercise format. Study outcomes will be assessed at baseline, immediately after the 5-week intervention, and 6 months after programme completion in order to enable the evaluation of the exercise programme effectiveness at immediate and longer-term. The primary objective is to determine the effectiveness of hybrid exercise programme as compared to the two single-component exercise programmes…
Study details
- Official title
- Powering Exercise-induced Hypoalgesia and Functional Recovery in Chronic Nonspecific Neck Pain by Hybrid Muscle Conditioning: a Comparative Effectiveness Randomised Controlled Trial With Mechanistic Analysis
- Conditions
- Chronic Nonspecific Neck Pain
- Interventions
- Other: Hybrid exercise group
- Other: Motor control exercise group
- Other: Endurance exercise group
- Sponsor
- The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
- Collaborators
- University of Birmingham; Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, Hong Kong; Chinese University of Hong Kong
- Start date
- 2026-10-05
- Primary completion
- 2029-12-31
- Sex
- All
- Age range
- from 18 Years to 50 Years
- Results posted
- No results posted in this snapshot
- Countries
- Hong Kong
- Total sites listed
- 1
Eligibility criteria
Show eligibility criteria (verbatim from the registry)
Inclusion Criteria: * adults aged 18-50 years * unilateral CNSNP of more than 3 months' duration with mechanical nature (neck pain provoked or aggravated by cervical posture or movement) * baseline neck pain ≥3/10 on Numerical Pain Rating Scale (NPRS) * baseline functional disability ≤25/50 on Neck Disability Index (NDI) * baseline funcctional diability ≤60/100 on Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) * impaired deep cervical flexor performance verified by \<26 mmHg on craniocervical flexion test (CCFT) activation score (Jull et al., 2004) * positive scapular reposition test verified by an immediate reduction in pain or improvement in cervical range of motion during manual scapular repositioning (Van Dillen et al., 2007; Wannaprom et al., 2021) Exclusion Criteria: * neck pain caused by trauma or with a specific diagnosis (including radiculopathy, disc herniation, or spinal stenosis, or if neurological deficits or congenital cervical deformity) * history of previous surgery of the cervical or thoracic spine or shoulder * marked restriction of cervical mobility verified by extension \<30° or rotation \<60° (Cleland et al., 2010; Wainner et al., 2003) * inability to achieve full shoulder elevation required for the prescribed exercise * BMI ≥25 kg/m² * comoborities orthopaedic, neurological, or systemic conditions * high fear-avoidance beliefs verified by Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia score ≥37 (Vlaeyen and Linton, 2000); psychological distress (SF-12 Mental Component Summary score ≤40) (Yu et al., 2015) * regular use of analgesics, muscle relaxants, or vasoactive medications * dizziness or vertigo suggestive of vestibular dysfunction or vertebrobasilar insufficiency * any contraindications to electrical stimulation for muscle endurance index measurement (any mental or neural implant, seizure)
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov (US National Library of Medicine), snapshot October 2026. Check the registry for current recruiting status. Record: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT07837414