The effects of the Kaltenborn－Evjenth concept-based cervical specific stabilization exercise on pain, pulmonary function, and functional disability in patients with chronic neck pain : A Pilot Study

Objective: In this study, we examined the effects of Kaltenborn–Evjenth concept-based cervical specific stabilization exercise (KESS) on pain, range of motion (ROM), pulmonary function, and functional ability in patients with chronic neck pain. Design: Randomized Controlled Trial. Methods: Thirty participants were randomly assigned to either a KESS (n = 15) or eye cervical re-education (ECRE) (n = 15) group. Both programs involved 5- to 10-second contractions per repetition, with 10 repetitions per set and three sets at 1-minintervals, performed three times weekly for 4 weeks. Data for within-group pre- and post-intervention comparisons and between-group differences were analyzed using paired and independent t-tests, respectively. The outcome measures included the visual analogue scale for pain, neck disability index (NDI) for functional disability, forced expiratory volume in 1 second for pulmonary function, cranio-cervical flexor test (CCFT) for deep neck flexor strength, proprioception tests, and cervical ROM measurements. Results: In both groups, we observed significant improvement in pain and NDI values, although with greater reductions in the KESS group participants. Whereas pulmonary function improved among participants in both groups, there were no significant between-group differences. Similarly, there were significant improvements in CCFT in both groups, although with the responses be more pronounced in KESS participants. Participants in both groups also showed significant improvements with respect to proprioception, although with limited differences in direction ratios. Moreover, in each group, there was a significant increase in ROM. Conclusions: Participants in the KESS group were found to show superior improvements with respect to pain, NDI, and deep neck flexor function, thus indicating that by targeting cervical segment stabilization, this exercise is more effective for the management of chronic neck dysfunction. However, the small sample size and lack of assessor blinding limits the interpretation of these findings.