Open AccessA comparison of three types of neck support in fibromyalgia patients
Author(s) -
Ambrogio Nancy,
Cuttiford Joanne,
Lineker Sydney,
Li Linda
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
arthritis & rheumatism
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1529-0131
pISSN - 0004-3591
DOI - 10.1002/art.1790110512
Subject(s) - medicine , physical therapy , fibromyalgia , neck pain , physical medicine and rehabilitation , quality of life (healthcare) , nursing , alternative medicine , pathology
Objective . To determine the effectiveness of 3 types of neck support for patients with fibromyalgia (FMS) and their preference for the type of support. Methods . Thirty‐five patients with FMS chose the order of application and used each type of neck support for a 2‐week period, followed by a 2‐week washout. The same schedule was repeated a second time. The neck supports included a Shape of Sleep pillow, two neck ruffs with one standard pillow, and a single standard pillow. All subjects received a physiotherapy treatment and educational program in the home. Outcome measures included visual analog scales (VAS) for neck pain and quality of sleep, the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ), and a neck and shoulder pain distribution diagram. Results . Analysis using Friedman's 2‐way analysis of variance revealed no significant differences in any outcome measure, although there was a trend towards improvement in the FIQ and VAS neck pain and quality of sleep scores for some patients. Most participants (62.9%) preferred the Shape of Sleep pillow, 20.0% preferred cervical ruffs with one standard pillow, and 17.1% preferred a single standard pillow. Conclusions . The results of this study are inconclusive due to the small sample size. However, from a patient's perspective, neck support is an important part of a comprehensive physiotherapy program. Most participants preferred the more rigid support of a Shape of Sleep pillow. Further research into the efficacy of the use of neck support in people with FMS is warranted.