Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32373366›Full record

ArticleRehabilitation research and practice2020

A Comparison of Clinical Outcomes between Early Cervical Spine Stabilizer Training and Usual Care in Individuals following Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion.

Carol McFarland, Sharon Wang-Price, Charles R Gordon, Guy Otis Danielson, J Stuart Crutchfield, Ann Medley, Toni Roddey

Registry-linked trialOpen access · hybridAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Rehabilitation research and practice, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT01519115 (A Comparison of Clinic Outcomes Between Early Physical Therapy Intervention and Usual Care in Individuals Following Anterior Cervical Fusion), which is not on this map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.7field-weighted citation impact, top 30% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT01519115 nacompletednot on this map

A Comparison of Clinic Outcomes Between Early Physical Therapy Intervention and Usual Care in Individuals Following Anterior Cervical Fusion

TypeinterventionalSponsorTexas Woman's UniversityRan2013 to 2014Enrolled40ConditionsCervical Spine Degenerative Disc Disease, Fusion of Spine, Cervical RegionArmsearly physical therapy intervention, usual care
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 11 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Postoperative Physical Therapy for Cervical Total Disc Replacement: A Case Report.International journal of sports physical therapy · 2025
    Article
  4. Review
  5. Review
  6. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Carol McFarlandTexas Woman's University, School of Physical Therapy, 5500 Southwestern Medical Avenue, Dallas, TX, USA 75235.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9815-1186
Sharon Wang-PriceTexas Woman's University, School of Physical Therapy, 5500 Southwestern Medical Avenue, Dallas, TX, USA 75235.
Charles R GordonPrecision Spine Care, Texas Spine and Joint Hospital, 1814 Roseland Blvd., Tyler, TX, USA 75701.
Guy Otis DanielsonTexas Spine and Joint Hospital, 1814 Roseland Blvd., Tyler, TX, USA 75701.
J Stuart CrutchfieldTexas Spine and Joint Hospital, 1814 Roseland Blvd., Tyler, TX, USA 75701.
Ann MedleyTexas Woman's University, School of Physical Therapy, 5500 Southwestern Medical Avenue, Dallas, TX, USA 75235.
Toni RoddeyTexas Woman's University, School of Physical Therapy, 5500 Southwestern Medical Avenue, Dallas, TX, USA 75235.
Texas Woman's University · USPrecision Spine (United States) · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesEarly physical therapy (PT) with specific stabilization training has been shown to benefit individuals after lumbar spinal surgery but has not been studied in patients after cervical spine surgery. The primary purpose of this study was to compare clinical outcomes between early cervical spine stabilizer (ECS) training and usual care (UC) in patients after anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) surgery. The secondary purpose was to determine test-retest reliability of strength and endurance tests of cervical spinal stabilizers in this patient population.

methodsForty participants who were scheduled for ACDF surgery were randomized into either the ECS group or the UC group. After surgery, participants received their assigned group intervention during their hospital stay and continued their assigned intervention for 12 weeks. All participants had phone follow-ups twice during the first 6 weeks to address questions or problems. Clinical outcome measures including pain level using the Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS), disability level using the Neck Disability Index (NDI), Craniocervical Flexor Strength (CCF-S), and Craniocervical Flexor Endurance (CCF-E) were collected three times: before surgery and 6 and 12 weeks after surgery. Test-retest reliability was assessed in the first 10 participants.

resultsThere was no significant interaction between the groups over time for any of the outcome measures. However, all participants made significant improvements in all four outcome measures at 6 and 12 weeks post surgery. The results showed good-to-excellent test-retest reliability for the CCF-S and CCF-E tests.

conclusionsBoth ECS training and UC resulted in the same amount of improvement at 6 and 12 weeks; therefore, both therapy approaches appear to have similar and positive effects on patients in their first 3 months of recovery after ACDF. Both the CCF-S and CCF-E tests can be used reliably to assess the strength and endurance of the cervical spinal stabilizers for patients after ACDF surgery. The study was registered with the ClinicalTrials.gov (NIH, U.S. National Library of Medicine, identifier # NCT01519115) Protocol Registration system.

Identifiers

PMID32373366
PMCPMC7196146
OpenAlexW3020095731

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Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.