Physical measures of physical functioning as prognostic factors in predicting outcomes for neck and thoracic pain: a systematic review.

Rabea Begum, Alaa El Chamaa, Paul Parikh, David Walton, Alison Rushton

Abstract readSystematic Review

In one paragraph

Synthesis in BMC musculoskeletal disorders, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it

0cells of the map it votes in

2citing papers in PubMed

–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

2 citing papers in PubMed.

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

5 authors.

Rabea BegumSchool of Physical Therapy, Western University, London, ON, Canada. mbegum6@uwo.ca.

Alaa El ChamaaSchool of Physical Therapy, Western University, London, ON, Canada.

Paul ParikhSchool of Physical Therapy, Western University, London, ON, Canada.

David WaltonSchool of Physical Therapy, Western University, London, ON, Canada.

Alison RushtonSchool of Physical Therapy, Western University, London, ON, Canada.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo summarize evidence for physical measures of physical functioning as prognostic factors in predicting outcomes in people with neck and thoracic pain.

methodsA comprehensive search was performed on 01/09/2025 across key databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Scopus, and Web of Science), the grey literature (ProQuest), handsearches of key journals, and reference lists. Eligible studies were prospective longitudinal cohort studies. Two reviewers independently performed study selection, data extraction, risk of bias (RoB) assessment using Quality in Prognostic Studies (QUIPS) tool, and quality of evidence using GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation). Owing to substantial clinical and methodological heterogeneity, findings were synthesized narratively by grouping studies according to outcome type, physical measure, and follow-up timepoints.

resultsTwenty-two studies (10 high, 7 moderate, 5 low RoB) were included. Low level evidence supports higher cervical movement velocity in the frontal plane predicting lower short-term (< 3 months) disability for people with neck pain. Low to very low evidence suggests cervical active range of motion (frontal and transverse planes), cervical movement velocity (sagittal and transverse planes), spring test, joint position error (transverse plane), and endurance of deep neck flexors were not predicting pain, disability and good overall changes in the short-term and mid-term (3 to 12-month) for neck pain. Inconsistent associations were also found for multiple measures in the short-and mid-term outcomes, with very low evidence. No studies addressed any measures for thoracic pain.

conclusionThe overall evidence was consistently low, precluding strong conclusions. Cervical movement velocity may be a potential predictor of short-term disability for neck pain to inform clinical decision making. There is an urgent need for low RoB prospective longitudinal cohort studies with standardized prognostic factors and outcomes measurement to further investigate physical measures of physical functioning as candidate prognostic factors for people with neck pain. Evidence for thoracic pain was entirely lacking, highlighting the need for a future prognostic studies for thoracic pain.

Indexed as

Chest PainNeck PainDisability EvaluationHumansPredictive Value of TestsPrognosisRange of Motion, ArticularNeck painPhysical functioningPhysical measuresPrognostic factorsThoracic pain

Identifiers

PMID41316109

DOI10.1186/s12891-025-09300-9

PMCPMC12771861

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND

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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.