Dosing Study of Massage for Neck Pain

This study's long-term objective is to identify effective treatments for with neck pain. Many
Americans have found conventional medical treatments ineffective for this common and costly
problem and are increasingly trying complementary and alternative treatments, including
therapeutic massage. Despite the growing popularity of massage, its effectiveness for
treating neck pain remains unclear, largely because of the poor quality of research in this
area. A major deficiency of previous studies has been their use of low "doses" of massage
that massage therapists consider inadequate. Unfortunately, the numbers of minutes per
massage session, sessions per weeks, or weeks of treatment necessary for massage to have
beneficial or optimal effects are not known. This study is designed to address these gaps in
our knowledge by determining, for persons with chronic neck pain: 1) the optimal combination
of number of treatments per week and length of individual treatment session, and 2) the
optimal number of weeks of treatment. In this project, 228 persons with chronic non-specific
neck pain will be randomized to a wait list control group or 4 weeks of treatment with one of
5 different dosing combinations (2 or 3 30-minute treatments per week or 1, 2, or 3 60-minute
treatments per week). At the end of this 4 week primary treatment period, participants
initially receiving each of the 5 dosing combinations will be randomized to a secondary
treatment period of either no additional treatment or 6 weekly 60-minute massages. The
primary outcomes, neck-related dysfunction and pain, will be assessed by blinded telephone
interviewers 4, 10, and 26 weeks post-randomization. To better characterize the trajectory of
the persistence of treatment effects, these interview data will be supplemented with outcomes
data collected by mailed questionnaire at 8, 14, 18 and 39 weeks. Comparisons of outcomes for
the 6 groups during the primary treatment period will identify the optimal weekly dose, while
comparisons of outcomes during the secondary treatment period will determine if 10 weeks of
treatment is superior to 4 weeks. The results of this study will: 1) guide the development of
a massage treatment protocol to be used in a full-scale trial evaluating the effectiveness of
therapeutic massage for chronic neck pain, 2) serve as a model for future dosing studies of
massage and bodywork, and 3) help interpret the adequacy of the dosing of massage used in
past studies of massage for neck pain

Inclusion Criteria:

- Symptoms consistent with non-specific, uncomplicated neck pain of at least moderate
level of pain

- Lives or works within Greater Seattle WA geographic area

Exclusion Criteria:

- Cervical Radiculopathy

- History of cancer (other than nonmelanoma skin cancer)

- Severe disk problems

- Unstable medical conditions

- Previous neck surgery

- Physically unable to get on and off of a massage table

- Has had massage within the last year

- Currently in litigation for neck pain

- Seeking other treatment for neck pain

- Potential contraindications for massage

- Unable to give informed consent