Table II.
Within- and between-group differences in outcome measures pre- to post-intervention for the 3 groups
| Outcome measures | Pre- intervention | Post-intervention | Cohen’s d (95% CI)a | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| |||||||||
| CG (n = 18) Mean (SD) | SMG (n = 16) Mean (SD) | VRG (n = 17) Mean (SD) | CG (n = 18) Mean (SD) | SMG (n = 16) Mean (SD) | VRG (n = 17) Mean (SD) | VRG vs CG | SMG vs CG | VRG vs SMG | |
| Pain (numerical rating scale ) | |||||||||
| Neck pain at rest | 4.2 (2.6) | 4.4 (3.1) | 4.9 (2.1) | 3.2 (3.0) | 2.9 (2.2) | 2.2 (1.2)** | 0.61 (–0.05 to 1.3) | 0.19 (–0.50 to 0.86) | 0.45 ( –0.24 to 1.15) |
| Neck pain during motion | 5.3 (2.2) | 4.6 (2.6) | 5.3 (2.6) | 3.5 (2.2)* | 3.1 (2.3) | 3.7 (2.0)* | –0.07 (–0.73 to 0.60) | –0.10 (–0.77 to 0.59) | 0.03 ( –0.65 to 0.72) |
| Headache at rest | 2.7 (2.4) | 4.8 (2.9) | 3.8 (3.0) | 2.0 (2.1) | 2.8 (3.1)** | 0.4 (0.7)** | 1.00** (0.30 to 1.71) | 0.54 (–0.15 to 1.12) | 0.53 ( –0.16 to 1.23) |
| Headache during motion | 2.7 (2.9) | 3.8 (3.3) | 4.7 (3.4) | 2.3 (2.6) | 2.6 (3.0) | 1.1 (1.2)** | 0.90* (0.20 to 1.59) | 0.23 (–0.45 to 0.90) | 0.74 (0.03 to 1.44) |
| Active cervical range of motion (degrees) | |||||||||
| Flexion | 45.8 (12.9) | 38.9 (12.2) | 40.9 (14.6) | 42.9 (12.6) | 37.9 (14.8) | 48.5 (13.3)* | –0.81* (–1.50 to –0.12) | –0.17 (–0.85 to 0.50) | –0.66 (–1.36 to 0.04) |
| Extension | 43.1 (13.3) | 39.1 (12.7) | 35.4 (12.8) | 39.8 (14.7) | 37.7 (15.1) | 44.6 (12.9)** | –1.21** (–1.93 to –0.49) | –0.14 (–0.82 to 0.53) | –0.91* (–1.62 to –0.19) |
| Left rotation | 59.3 (10.1) | 51.7 (17.9) | 57.4 (12.7) | 59.9 (9.3) | 55.8 (15.5) | 65.2 (16.9)* | –0.65 (–1.33 to 0.03) | –0.35 (–1.03 to 0.33) | –0.30 (–0.99 to 0.39) |
| Right rotation | 61.8 (15.3) | 54.6 (13.7) | 55.6 (10.4) | 64.0 (0.2) | 58.6 (13.4) | 59.5 (14.0) | –0.13 (–0.79 to 0.54) | –0.15 (–0.82 to 0.53) | 0.01 ( –0.67 to 0.69) |
| Neck Disability Index (NDI) | |||||||||
| NDI | 18.2 (6.7) | 21.5 (6.4) | 18.7 (5.2) | 13.7 (7.0)** | 13.7 (7.9)** | 11.4 (7.5)** | 0.41 (–0.26 to 1.08) | 0.62 (–0.07 to 1.31) | –0.08 (–0.76 to 0.61) |
*
p < 0.05
**
p < 0.01: Paired 2-tailed t-test results marked beside post-intervention values; ANOVA analysis with post hoc Tukey-Kramer test results marked besides the Cohen’s d.
a
Calculated for the differences post- minus pre- intervention.
CG: control group; SMG: sensorimotor group; VRG: virtual reality group; SD: standard deviation; 95% CI: 95% confidence interval.