A preliminary study: The effect of ergonomic latex pillow on pain and disability in patients with cervical spondylosis.

Background: Cervical pillows are considered to be part of the therapeutic strategy in cervical spondylosis, but there is little or no convincing scientific evidence on the effectiveness of these pillows in relieving pain and disability in these patients. Hence, this study investigated the effects of ergonomic latex pillow in conjunction with routine physiotherapy versus routine physiotherapy alone on disability and pain intensity in patients with cervical spondylosis. Methods: 22 patients with cervical spondylosis in a single-blinded pilot study with a pre/post-test design were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. Both groups received 12 sessions of physiotherapy for four weeks. In the experimental group, participants were given an ergonomic latex pillow to sleep it for four weeks. Participants in the control group slept on their own usual pillow. All the participants filled out the Neck Disability Index questionnaire, and scored their neck pain intensity on the Numerical Pain Rating Scale before and after the intervention. Changes of variables (pain and disability) within and between groups were compared by Paired T-test and the Independent Sample T-test, respectively via SPSS v.20 (p<0.05). Results: Numerical Pain Rating Scale and Neck Disability Index scores were decreased statistically significant within groups. In the experimental group, neck disability scores were significantly lower than those in the control group (p=0.038). However, pain intensity scores were not significantly different between groups. Conclusion: Ergonomic latex pillows can significantly decrease disability related to neck pain in patients with cervical spondylosis after four weeks.

Effect of Knee Orthosis and Kinesio Taping on Clinical and Neuromuscular Outcomes in Patients with Knee Osteoarthritis: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Objectives: Impaired proprioception and muscle weakness may not only be a consequence of knee osteoarthritis (OA) but also part of its pathogenesis. Thus, the enhancement of quadriceps strength and proprioceptive accuracy can play a pivotal role in the management of knee OA. This study aimed to investigate the effects of Kinesio tape and flexible knee orthosis in terms of clinical and neuromuscular outcomes in patients with knee OA. Methods: This clinical trial was conducted on 56 patients with knee OA, randomly allocated to two groups: knee orthosis or Kinesio tape. The knee orthosis group wore a neoprene knee support for 4 weeks. For participants in the Kinesio tape group, tape was applied once a week, for 4 weeks. The primary outcomes were pain intensity and physical function evaluated through the visual analog scale and the Western Ontario and McMaster OA index. The secondary outcomes were concentric and isometric quadriceps strength, Joint Position Sense (JPS), Threshold to Detect Passive Motion (TTDPM), and force sense (FS), all measured by isokinetic dynamometry. Results: All outcome measures were significantly improved in the orthosis group. The Kinesio tape group also demonstrated significant changes in all outcome measures except three proprioception components namely JPS (70° target), FS, and TTDPM. At the end of the fourth week, there were no significant between-group differences for measured parameters. Conclusion: Wearing a flexible knee orthosis and/or Kinesio tape for 4 weeks significantly improved knee pain, physical function, and quadriceps strength. Although knee orthosis showed significant beneficial effects on various components of proprioception, there were no significant differences between the two groups at the end of the 4-week intervention.

The Effect of Ergonomic Latex Pillow on Head and Neck Posture and Muscle Endurance in Patients With Cervical Spondylosis: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

OBJECTIVES: Cervical pillows have frequently been reported to attenuate the symptoms of pain and disability. Although the main role of pillows is to optimize head and neck posture and relax the neck muscles, limited studies have examined the effectiveness of pillows from aspects beyond subjective outcome measures, especially their effect on head and neck posture and muscle performance. This study examines the effect of ergonomic latex pillow on the craniovertebral (CV) angle and cervical flexor and extensor muscle endurance in patients with cervical spondylosis. METHODS: This parallel-group, randomized, controlled trial was conducted from January to June 2017. The patients with cervical spondylosis were randomly allocated to the experimental and control groups, who both received identical standard physiotherapy 3 × a week for 4 weeks. The experimental group received an ergonomic latex pillow, but the control group was asked to continue sleeping on their usual pillow. The CV angle and flexor and extensor muscle endurance were measured before and after the intervention. The independent-sample t test was used to compare changes in the CV angle, whereas the Mann-Whitney test was used to compare changes in flexor and extensor muscle endurance between the groups, respectively. RESULTS: The experimental group showed significant changes in the CV angle and extensor muscle endurance. A significant increase was observed in extensor muscle endurance in the experimental group compared with the control group. CONCLUSION: The ergonomic latex pillow may affect neck extensor muscle endurance and CV angle in patients with cervical spondylosis, although further studies are needed before any recommendations.

Ergonomic Latex Pillows as a Part of a Multimodal Intervention or as an Adjunct to Rehabilitation Programs in Cervical Spondylosis: Are They Useful?: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the effectiveness of ergonomic latex pillows in terms of clinical and biomechanical (cervical range of motion) outcome measures in patients with cervical spondylosis. DESIGN: This parallel-group randomized controlled trial randomly assigned 42 patients with cervical spondylosis to the experimental and control groups. Both groups received 12 sessions of routine physical therapy for 4 wks. While the experimental group received an ergonomic latex pillow, the control group slept on their own usual pillow during the mentioned 4-wk period. Pain intensity, functional disability, medication use, and cervical range of motion were measured before and after 4 wks of intervention. RESULTS: After 4 wks of intervention, the experimental group showed pain relief, decreased disability, and significantly increased range of motion in all directions. The simultaneous use of an ergonomic latex pillow and physical therapy could more successfully decrease pain intensity compared with routine physical therapy alone. In addition, extension and right lateral flexion variables significantly increased in the experimental group compared with the control group. CONCLUSIONS: The administration of an ergonomic latex pillow can ameliorate treatment outcome in patients with cervical spondylosis.