Affiliations: [a] Department of Medicine, Movement and Sports Science, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland | [b] Faculty of Sport, German University of Health and Sport, Mannheim, Germany
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: Sandra Preiß, Department of Neurosciences and Movement Science, University of Fribourg, Boulevard de Pérolles 90, CH-1700 Fribourg, Switzerland. Tel.: +49 157 31398895; E-mail: sandra.preiss@unifr.ch.
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Working in awkward and sustained postures is, besides psychosocial risk factors, the most reported physical risk factor for neck pain. Accurate proprioception is fundamental to correcting awkward head-to-trunk positions, but impaired proprioceptive performance has been found in patients with chronic neck pain. OBJECTIVE: The aim was to compare the effectiveness of two different interventions in a workplace set-up on sensorimotor performance and pain sensitivity in people with chronic neck pain. METHODS: A total of 25 patients with chronic neck pain participated in this double-blind study. Patients were randomly allocated to the visuomotor tracking task group or the video group (watching a massage video, imagining themselves being massaged). The primary outcomes were cervical joint position sense acuity and pressure pain threshold of the cervical spine, evaluated by a blinded assessor. RESULTS: There were significant time by group interactions for cervical joint position sense acuity (F1;23: 4.38; p= 0.048) and pressure pain threshold (F1;23: 5.78; p= 0.025), with the tracking task group being more accurate in cervical joint position sense testing and less pain sensitive for pressure pain threshold. CONCLUSIONS: The visuomotor tracking task improves cervical joint position sense acuity and reduces pressure pain threshold immediately after intervention in people with chronic neck pain.
