Table 4.
Comparative analysis of common interventions for neck pain compared to the utilization of careseekers (n=113) in our study.
|
Treatment |
Use, Percent (95% CI) |
No. Treatments Received Mean (95% CI) |
Efficacy or Effectiveness Studies in the BJD19 |
Cochrane |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MEDICATIONS1 | ||||
| NSAIDS (OTC) | 56.3 (45.7 –66.3) | N/A | NR | +/−34 |
| Weak Narcotics | 23.1 (15.0 – 33.7) | N/A | NR | +/−34 |
| Strong Narcotics | 28.8 (20.0 – 39.5) | N/A | NR | +/− 34 |
| Muscle Relaxants | 31.5 (22.4 – 42.4) | N/A | +/− | +/− 34 |
| PHYSICAL TREATMENTS2 |
||||
| Traction | 17.7 (10.7 – 27.7) | Not Asked | +/−* | +/−35 |
| Corset or brace | 20.9 (12.7 – 32.4) | Not Asked | NR | NR |
| Used TENS Unit | 21.8 (13.9 – 32.6) | Not Asked | +/−* | +/−36 |
| Spinal Manipulation | 36.8 (27.13 – 47.6) | 12.7 (6.7 – 18.7) | +/− | +37 |
| Injection† | 18.6 (11.7 – 28.2) | 2.4 (1.5 – 3.3) | NR | +34 |
| Rehabilitation conditioning / work hardening program |
2.7 (0.78 – 8.7) | Not Asked | NR | +38 |
| Prescribed exercise | 52.6 (42.2 – 62.8) | N/A | + | +27 |
| Electro stimulation during visit |
30.3 (21.1 – 41.4) | 20.8 (8.8 – 32.8) | NR | +/−36 |
| Heat | 57.0 (46.2 – 67.1) | 23.2 (13.9 – 32.6) | +/−* | NR |
| Cold | 47.7 (36.9 – 58.7) | 20.7 (9.6 – 31.7) | +/−* | NR |
| Ultrasound | 27.3 (18.6 – 38.1) | 9.2 (4.2 – 14.3) | +/− | NR |
| Acupuncture† | 3.9 (1.4 – 10.4) | 7.9 (0.18 – 16.0) | + | +39 |
| Therapeutic Massage |
28.1 (19.3 – 39.0) | 8.4 (4.7 – 12.1) | +/− | +/−40 |
| Mean number of total treatments‡ |
15.6 (10.9 – 20.4) | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Mean number of different treatment types |
N/A | 3.9 (3.3 – 4.5) | N/A | N/A |
1
In past 30 days
2
In past year
*
denotes those reviews that did not include subjects with symptoms 3 months or greater;
†
Strata collapsed due to small cell sizes
‡
conditional on receiving one treatment
“+” indicates efficacy for the intervention; “+/−” indicates discrepancies or results unclear in the evidence for the intervention, “NR” indicates no active review available, “Not Asked” – question of mean number of treatments not asked in the survey, “N/A” indicates not applicable.