Clinical trial NCT05541848: Clinical Benefits of a Multimodal Physiotherapy Programme in Fighter Pilots With Flight-related Neck Pain
Official title: Clinical Benefits of a Multimodal Physiotherapy Programme in Fighter Pilots With Flight-related Neck Pain
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Neck Pain
Keywords: fighter pilots
flight-related neck pain
disability
electric massage
Therapeutic exercise
Lead sponsor: Universidad de Extremadura
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2022-09-15
Enrollment: 31
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Maximum age (years): 65
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: CROSSOVER
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

Brief summary: The aim of this study was to analyse the immediate effects of a 4-week multimodal physiotherapy program which combines cervical supervised exercises with laser-guided feedback (ELGF) and interferential current electro massage (ICE) in fighter pilots with flight-related neck pain.

Detailed description: Flight-related neck pain constitutes a clinical entity related to the performance and flight safety of fighter pilots. The aim of this study was to analyse the effectiveness of a multimodal physiotherapy program which combines supervised Exercise with Laser-Guided Feedback (ELGF) and Interferential Current Electro-Massage (ICE) in fighter pilots with flight-related neck pain.

31 pilots were randomly allocated into two groups (Experimental Group n=14; Control Group n = 17). The intervention consisted of 8 sessions (twice a week) for 4 weeks. As primary outcome measures the following variables were measured: perceived pain intensity (Numeric Pain Rating Scale) and neck disability (Neck Disability Index). The secondary outcome measures were: cervical range of movement (CRoM), joint position sense error (JPSE) and pressure pain threshold (PPT).

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Flight pilots (male and female) who, at the time of the assessment, were an instructor or student attached to the 23th Wing of Talavera Air Base, Spanish Air Force (SAF), Badajoz.
* Flight pilots diagnosed with flight-related neck pain according to the International Classification proposed by an expert panel of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).
* A minimum perceived pain of 3/10 on the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) in the early-morning assessment.
* Scores of ≥5 points on the Neck Disability Index (NDI), and a cervical-repositioning error of ≥4.5°.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Cervical pain with radiation to the upper limbs and/or radiculopathy.
* Cervical spine surgery with or without the presence of a metal implant.
* Having received physiotherapy or any other routine medical care six weeks prior to data collection.
* Being involved in ongoing medical-legal conflicts.

Primary outcomes:
measure: Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS)
timeFrame: 4 weeks.
measure: Cervical Joint Position Sense Error (JPSE)
timeFrame: 4 weeks.
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Cervical Range of Motion (CRoM)
timeFrame: 4 weeks.
measure: Pressure Pain Threshold (PPT)
timeFrame: 4 weeks.
measure: Standard Deviation 1 (SD1)
timeFrame: 4 weeks.
measure: Standard Deviation 2 (SD2)
timeFrame: 4 weeks.
measure: Min_HR
timeFrame: 4 weeks.
measure: Max_HR
timeFrame: 4 weeks.
measure: Mean_HR
timeFrame: 4 weeks.
measure: pNN50
timeFrame: 4 weeks.
measure: Low Frequency Power (LF)
timeFrame: 4 weeks.
measure: High Frequency Power (HF)
timeFrame: 4 weeks.
measure: Low/High Frequency ratio (HF/LF)
timeFrame: 4 weeks.
measure: Myoelectric activity
timeFrame: 4 weeks.
measure: Kinesophobia
timeFrame: 4 weeks.
measure: Catastrophizing Pain
timeFrame: 4 weeks.
measure: Sympathetic/parasympathetic ratio (S/PS)
timeFrame: 4 weeks.
measure: Stress Score
timeFrame: 4 weeks.
measure: Neck Disability Index (NDI)
timeFrame: 4 weeks.
measure: Root Mean Square of the Successive Differences (RMSSD)
timeFrame: 4 weeks.
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Badajoz
country: Spain
facility: University of Extremadura
Study officials:
affiliation: University of Extremadura
name: Luis Espejo-Antúnez, PhD
role: STUDY_DIRECTOR
affiliation: University of Extremadura
name: Carlos Fernández-Morales, PT, MSc
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
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