Effectiveness of a Home-based Cervical Motor Control Exercise Programme Versus Conventional Manual Therapy in Patients With Post-whiplash Neck Pain.

Effectiveness of a Home-based Cervical Motor Control Exercise Programme Versus Conventional Manual Therapy in Patients With Post-whiplash Neck Pain: a Randomised Clinical Trial.

Whiplash-associated disorders are a common cause of persistent neck pain following traffic accidents and are frequently associated with impairments in cervical motor control, pain, and functional disability. Therapeutic exercise aimed at restoring cervical motor control has shown promising results; however, evidence regarding the effectiveness of structured home-based exercise programs compared with conventional physiotherapy remains limited. The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of a home-based cervical motor control exercise program versus conventional physiotherapy in patients with whiplash-associated neck pain.

A randomized controlled trial with two parallel groups was conducted. Patients diagnosed with whiplash-associated neck pain were randomly assigned to either an experimental group performing a structured home-based cervical motor control exercise program or a control group receiving conventional physiotherapy based on manual therapy and cervical mobilization techniques. Outcome measures included pain intensity assessed using the Visual Analogue Scale, functional disability measured with the Neck Disability Index, and active cervical range of motion. Assessments were performed at baseline and after an eight-week intervention period.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients who met the following criteria were included:
• Age between 18 and 65 years.
• Clinical diagnosis of post-whiplash neck pain resulting from a traffic accident.
• Symptoms lasting longer than four weeks.
• Presence of neck pain with a minimum intensity of 3 points on the Visual Analogue Scale.
• Ability to understand and follow the instructions of the home exercise programme.
• Signed informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients with the following conditions were excluded:
• Signs of severe neurological compromise or significant structural cervical pathology (fractures, cervical instability, myelopathy).
• History of cervical surgery.
• Rheumatic, neurological, or systemic diseases that could influence the results.
• Previous physiotherapy treatment for the same episode in the three months prior to the study.
• Pregnancy or any medical contraindication for therapeutic exercise.