N/A N=131 Randomized Triple-blind Treatment

Spinal Pain and Autonomic Responses to Chiropractic Care

Neck Pain

Bottom Line

View on ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03576846 ↗

Enrolled (actual)

131

Serious AEs

0.0%

Results posted

Dec 2025

Primary outcome: Primary: Change in Heart Rate Variability — 843; 887 ms

Study Design & Population

Study type: Interventional
Phase: N/A
Interventions: Stretching and Spinal manipulative therapy (Other); Stretching (Other)
Age: Adult, Older Adult · 18+ yrs
Sex: All
Sponsor: Karolinska Institutet
Primary completion: May 2020

Outcome Measures

Outcome	Result	p-value
PRIMARY Change in Heart Rate Variability	843; 887	—
SECONDARY Change in Conditioned Pain Modulation, Measured as the Difference in Pain Intensity Between Two Conditions .	-3.3; 0.2	—

Summary

This randomized, single-blinded study will investigate the effects of Spinal Manipulative Therapy on Heart Rate Variability and Pain Sensitivity in a population of patients with recurrent and persistent neck pain. Alongside, the study will also develop a clinical test for Conditioned Pain Modulation and investigate its predictive properties.

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

minimum 18 years,
able to read and understand Swedish,
persistent or recurrent Neck Pain (duration of current episode more than 6 months and at least one previous episode of NP),
no chiropractic treatment during the previous 3 months.

Exclusion Criteria

conditions or medications that will affect the Heart Rate Variability measurements (cardiovascular disease, diabetes, pregnancy, obesity, currently using pain-reducing medication, steroids or antidepressants),
all contraindications to manual treatment, (anything that could seriously aggravate the pain (such as inflammatory conditions) or signal cerebrovascular injuries (previous drop attacks or a recent episode of new headache or dizziness).

View full record on ClinicalTrials.gov →

Data sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03576846). Outcome figures and adverse-event rates are extracted automatically from the registry's posted results and are provided for clinician reference, not as a substitute for the primary publication.