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. 2023 Sep 28;24(1):616.
doi: 10.1186/s13063-023-07651-z.

Effect of a telerehabilitation exercise program versus a digital booklet with self-care for patients with chronic non-specific neck pain: a protocol of a randomized controlled trial assessor-blinded, 3 months follow-up

Juliene Corrêa Barbosa  1 , Josielli Comachio  2 , Amelia Pasqual Marques  3 , Bruno Tirotti Saragiotto  4   5 , Mauricio Oliveira Magalhaes  6
Affiliations

Effect of a telerehabilitation exercise program versus a digital booklet with self-care for patients with chronic non-specific neck pain: a protocol of a randomized controlled trial assessor-blinded, 3 months follow-up

Juliene Corrêa Barbosa et al. Trials. .

Abstract

Background: Neck pain is the fourth worldwide leading cause of disability and represents 22% of musculoskeletal disorders. Conservative intervention has been strongly recommended to treat chronic neck pain and Telerehabilitation is the alternative for the treatment of musculoskeletal conditions. There is a lack of high-quality research on the effects of telerehabilitation in patients with neck pain and functional disability. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the effect of a telerehabilitation exercise program versus a digital booklet only with self-care information in individuals with non-specific chronic neck pain.

Methods: This is a prospectively registered, assessor-blinded, two-arm randomized controlled trial comparing a telerehabilitation exercise program versus a digital booklet with self-care information. Seventy patients will be recruited with non-specific chronic neck pain. Follow-ups will be conducted post-treatment, 6 weeks, and 3 months after randomization. The primary outcome will be disability at post-treatment (6 weeks) measured using neck pain disability. Secondary outcomes will be pain intensity levels, global perceived effect, self-efficacy, quality of life, kinesiophobia, and adherence to treatment. In our hypothesis, patients allocated to the intervention group experience outcomes that are similar to those of those assigned to the self-care digital booklet. Our hypothesis can then be approved or disapproved based on the results of the study.

Discussion: This randomized clinical trial will provide reliable information on the use of telerehabilitation to treat patients with chronic non-specific neck pain.

Trial registration: The study was prospectively registered at the Brazilian Registry of Clinical Trials (number: RBR-10h7khvk). Registered on 16 September 2022.

Keywords: Chronic pain; Clinical trial protocol; Internet-based intervention; Neck pain.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

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Study flowchart
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