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  • Analysis of sensorimotor control in people with and without neck pain using inertial sensor technology: study protocol for a 1-year longitudinal prospective observational study

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Rehabilitation medicine
Protocol
Analysis of sensorimotor control in people with and without neck pain using inertial sensor technology: study protocol for a 1-year longitudinal prospective observational study
  1. Filippo Moggioli1,
  2. Tomas Pérez-Fernández1,
  3. Sonia Liébana1,
  4. Elena Bocos Corredor1,
  5. Susan Armijo-Olivo2,3,
  6. Josue Fernandez-Carnero4,5,6,
  7. Rafael Raya7,8,
  8. Pablo Conde1,
  9. Oscar Rodríguez-López1,
  10. Cristina Sánchez7,
  11. Aitor Martín-Pintado-Zugasti1
  1. 1Departamento de Fisioterapia, Facultad de Medicina, CEU Universities, Universidad San Pablo CEU, Madrid, Spain
  2. 2Faculty of Business and Social Sciences, University of Applied Sciences, Osnabrück, Germany
  3. 3Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, 3-48 Corbett Hall, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
  4. 4Department of Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Rehabilitation and Physical Medicine, Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid, Spain
  5. 5La Paz Hospital Institute for Health Research, IdiPAZ, Madrid, Spain
  6. 6Grupo Multidisciplinar de Investigación y Tratamiento del Dolor, Grupo de Excelencia Investigadora URJC-Banco de Santander, Madrid, Spain
  7. 7Departamento de Tecnologías de la Información, Escuela Politécnica Superior, CEU Universities, Universidad CEU San Pablo, Madrid, Spain
  8. 8Werium Solutions, Arganda del Rey, Madrid, Spain
  1. Correspondence to Dr Aitor Martín-Pintado-Zugasti; martinpintado.a{at}gmail.com

Abstract

Introduction Neck pain is a very common musculoskeletal disorder associated with high socioeconomic costs derived from work absenteeism and medical expenses. Previous studies have suggested that patients with neck pain of different origins present sensorimotor control impairments compared with the asymptomatic population. However, there is a small number of published studies focusing on these with conflicting results. In addition, the existing methodological limitations highlight the need for more and better quality studies. Moreover, longitudinal studies are necessary to investigate whether changes in pain or disability in individuals with chronic neck pain over time associate with changes in cervical sensorimotor control.

Methods and analysis This is a descriptive, observational, longitudinal, prospective study consecutively enrolling 52 patients with non-specific neck pain and 52 age-matched asymptomatic participants.

Intensity of pain, neck disability, duration of symptoms, topography of pain and comorbidities will be registered at baseline. Sensorimotor control variables including active range of motion, movement speed, acceleration, smoothness of motion, head repositioning accuracy and motion coupling patterns will be recorded as primary outcomes by means of inertial sensors during the following tests consecutively performed in two sessions separated by 12 months: (1) kinematics of planar movements, (2) kinematics of the craniocervical flexion movement, (3) kinematics during functional tasks and (4) kinematics of task-oriented neck movements in response to visual targets.

Secondary outcomes will include: (1) Regular physical activity levels, (2) Kinesiophobia, (3) Symptoms related to central sensitisation and (4) The usability of the inertial measurement unit sensor technology.

Ethics and dissemination This study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of CEU San Pablo University (495/21/39). Patients will be recruited after providing written informed consent and they will be able to withdraw their consent at any time. Only the study investigators will have access to the study data. The results will be disseminated through scientific publications, conferences and media.

Trial registration number NCT05032911.

  • back pain
  • health informatics
  • rehabilitation medicine
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited, appropriate credit is given, any changes made indicated, and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.

https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2021-058190

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors TP-F, SL, FM, JF-C, AM-P-Z and EBC: conception and design of the study; FM, PC, EBC and OR-L: recruitment and testing for pilot analysis; EBC, TP-F, SL, SA-O, OR-L and AM-P-Z: writing/editing of final manuscript; JF-C and SA-O: critical review and revision of manuscript; RR, CS, SA-O: technical support and statistical analyses. All authors reviewed and approved the manuscript before submission.

    • Funding The study was supported by the Agencia Estatal de Investigación, Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (Reference number: PID2019-108616RA-I00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033)

    • Competing interests RR is the CEO of Werium Solutions, manufacturer of the inertial wearable sensor used in the study. The other authors declare no conflict of interest.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

    • Supplemental material This content has been supplied by the author(s). It has not been vetted by BMJ Publishing Group Limited (BMJ) and may not have been peer-reviewed. Any opinions or recommendations discussed are solely those of the author(s) and are not endorsed by BMJ. BMJ disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on the content. Where the content includes any translated material, BMJ does not warrant the accuracy and reliability of the translations (including but not limited to local regulations, clinical guidelines, terminology, drug names and drug dosages), and is not responsible for any error and/or omissions arising from translation and adaptation or otherwise.