Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37731474›Full record

ReviewPain reports

Effectiveness of psychological interventions delivered by physiotherapists in the management of neck pain: a systematic review with meta-analysis.

Scott F Farrell, Devon Edmunds, John Fletcher, Harry Martine, Hashem Mohamed, Jenna Liimatainen, Michele Sterling

Abstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Pain reports. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
11citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

11 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. The Added Value and the Efficacy of Preoperative Physiotherapy on Degenerative Diseases of the Lumbar Spine: A Systematic Review.Physiotherapy research international : the journal for researchers and clinicians in physical therapy · 2026
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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.

Scott F FarrellRECOVER Injury Research Centre and NHMRC Centre for Research Excellence: Better Health Outcomes for Compensable Injury, The University of Queensland, Herston, Australia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2625-3562
Devon EdmundsSchool of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia.
John FletcherSchool of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia.
Harry MartineSchool of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia.
Hashem MohamedSchool of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia.
Jenna LiimatainenRECOVER Injury Research Centre and NHMRC Centre for Research Excellence: Better Health Outcomes for Compensable Injury, The University of Queensland, Herston, Australia.
Michele SterlingRECOVER Injury Research Centre and NHMRC Centre for Research Excellence: Better Health Outcomes for Compensable Injury, The University of Queensland, Herston, Australia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Physiotherapists are increasingly using psychological treatments for musculoskeletal conditions. We assessed the effects of physiotherapist-delivered psychological interventions on pain, disability, and quality of life in neck pain. We evaluated quality of intervention reporting. We searched databases for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comprising individuals with acute or chronic whiplash-associated disorder (WAD) or nontraumatic neck pain (NTNP), comparing physiotherapist-delivered psychological interventions to standard care or no treatment. Data were extracted regarding study characteristics and outcomes. Standardised mean difference (SMD) was calculated by random-effects meta-analysis. We evaluated certainty of evidence using Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) and intervention reporting using TIDieR. Fourteen RCTs (18 articles-4 detail additional outcome/follow-up data) were included comprising 2028 patients, examining acute WAD (n = 4), subacute/mixed NTNP (n = 3), chronic WAD (n = 2), and chronic NTNP (n = 5). Treatment effects on pain favoured psychological interventions in chronic NTNP at short-term (SMD -0.40 [95% CI -0.73, -0.07]), medium-term (SMD -0.29 [95% CI -0.57, 0.00]), and long-term (SMD -0.32 [95% CI -0.60, -0.05]) follow-up. For disability, effects favoured psychological interventions in acute WAD at short-term follow-up (SMD -0.39 [95% CI -0.72, -0.07]) and chronic NTNP at short-term (SMD -0.53 [95% CI -0.91, -0.15]), medium-term (SMD -0.49 [95% CI -0.77, -0.21]), and long-term (SMD -0.60 [95% CI -0.94, -0.26]) follow-up. GRADE ratings were typically moderate, and intervention reporting often lacked provision of trial materials and procedural descriptions. Psychological interventions delivered by physiotherapists were more effective than standard physiotherapy for chronic NTNP (small-to-medium effects) and, in the short term, acute WAD.

Indexed as

Chronic painNeck painPhysical therapy modalitiesPsychosocial interventionRehabilitationWhiplash injuries

Identifiers

PMID37731474
PMCPMC10508403

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

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.