Background Chronic neck pain (CNP) is a severe health problem in the general population due to its high prevalence and frequent association with disability. There are various approaches involved in the treatment of the CNP.

Objectives The aim of this trial was to investigate and compare the effects of phonophoresis (PP), placebo PP and exercise therapies on pain, range of motion of neck, disability, sleep quality, and depression in the patients with chronic neck pain (CNP).

Methods This is a randomized, single-blind placebo controlled study. A total of 61 patients with definite CNP were included in this study. The patients were randomized into three groups. Group 1 (n = 21) received PP with capsaicin treatment and exercises. Group 2 (n = 20) received placebo PP with capsaicin and exercises. Group 3 (n = 20) was given only exercises. All of the programs were performed 3 days a week, for 6 weeks. The pain (visual analog scale, VAS), disability (The neck pain disability index, NPDI), range of motion of neck, depression (Beck Depression Inventory scores, BDI), and sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, PSQI) of all participants were evaluated. Measurements were taken before and after treatment.

Results All of the groups showed statistically significant improvements in pain, range of motion of neck, disability, sleep quality, and depression. The intergroup comparison showed significant differences in pain, range of motion of neck, and disability among three groups except depression and sleep quality. These differences were statistically significant in groups 1 and 2 compared with the group 3. The intergroup comparison showed significant difference in pain, range of motion of neck, disability, between groups 1 and 2. This difference was statistically significant in the group 1.

Conclusions We observed that PP treatment was effective in the treatment of patients with CNP. A combination of PP with exercises can be used to obtain optimal clinical results.

Disclosure of Interest None Declared