The Effectiveness of Chuna Maintenance Therapy for Chronic Bothersome Neck Pain

Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Manual Maintenance Therapy (Chuna Maintenance Therapy) for Chronic Bothersome Neck Pain : a Multi-centered, Pragmatic Randomized Controlled Study

This study is a pragmatic randomized controlled study that assessed 250 subjects complaining of chronic bothersome neck pain with mild discomfort in a 1:1 ratio: chuna maintenance therapy group (125 subjects, 1 time/2 weeks, total 20 weeks) and lifestyle management & self-exercise group (125 subjects, exercise method education 1 time/4 weeks, total 20 weeks).

• Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Aged 19 or older but under 70.
  2. Neck pain with pain duration of 12 months or longer
  3. NRS of neck pain over the past month is 2 or more but less than 4
  4. Patients who have agreed to trial participation and provided written informed consent

• Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Patients diagnosed with serious pathology(s) which may cause neck pain (e.g. spinal metastasis of tumor(s), acute fracture, spinal dislocation)
  2. Patients with progressive neurologic deficit or severe neurologic symptoms such as spinal cord injury
  3. Patients whose pain is due to soft tissue disease not the spine (e.g. tumors, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, gout)
  4. Patients with other chronic disease(s) which may interfere with treatment effect, safety, or interpretation of outcome (e.g. stroke and myocardial infarction, kidney disease, diabetic neuropathy, dementia, epilepsy)
  5. Patients currently taking steroids, immunosuppressants, medicine for mental illness or other medication(s) that may interfere with study results
  6. Pregnant patients or patients with plans of pregnancy or lactating patients
  7. Patients within 3 months after cervical surgery
  8. Patients with experience of participating in another clinical study within 1 month or plan to participate in another clinical study during the study participation and follow-up period within 6 months from the participation date
  9. Patients having difficult to completing the written informed consent
  10. Patients who are deemed unsuitable by the researchers