Figure 1
Research model.
EXT = exercise therapy; MPT = manual physical therapy; NDI = neck disability index; PPT = pain pressure threshold.
Figure 2
PRISMA flow diagram.
PRISMA = preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis.
Figure 3Study of risk of bias.
Figure 4Publication bias Funnel plot.
Figure 5Egger’s regression plot.
Figure 6Trim and fill plot.
Table 1Effect size results according to the 25 study cases.
Model |
k |
ES (g) |
95% CI |
Q (df) |
I2
|
p
|
LL |
UL |
Random |
63 |
1.32 |
1.11 |
1.54 |
423.13 (62) |
85.3% |
< 0.0001 |
Table 2Effect size according to treatment intervention.
Treatment Intervention |
k |
ES (g) |
95% CI |
Q (df) |
p
|
LL |
UL |
EXT |
19 |
1.18 |
0.84 |
1.52 |
4.80 (2) |
> 0.0907 |
MPT |
28 |
1.13 |
0.85 |
1.41 |
EXT+MPT |
16 |
1.83 |
1.26 |
2.40 |
Table 3Effect size according to outcome variables.
Outcome |
k |
ES (g) |
95% CI |
Q (df) |
p
|
LL |
UL |
NDI |
11 |
1.35 |
0.92 |
1.79 |
8.19 (2) |
< 0.0167 |
PPT |
23 |
0.94 |
0.65 |
1.24 |
VAS |
29 |
1.59 |
1.25 |
1.92 |
Table 4Treatment ES according to the control variable.
Control variable |
N
|
k |
ES (g) |
95% CI |
Q (df) |
p
|
|
LL |
UL |
No. of participants |
≤ 20 |
47 |
1.22 |
0.97 |
1.47 |
3.35 (2) |
> 0.1876 |
21 to 40 |
15 |
1.64 |
1.26 |
2.02 |
≥ 41 |
1 |
1.22 |
0.63 |
1.81 |
|
Treatment period (d) |
1 to 15 |
25 |
1.27 |
0.97 |
1.57 |
2.87 (3) |
> 0.4125 |
16 to 30 |
28 |
1.41 |
1.04 |
1.77 |
31 to 45 |
6 |
1.44 |
0.76 |
2.11 |
46 to 60 |
4 |
0.84 |
0.26 |
1.42 |
|
No. of treatments |
1 to 5 |
3 |
1.02 |
0.64 |
1.39 |
8.21 (3) |
< 0.0418 |
6 to 10 |
37 |
1.51 |
1.20 |
1.82 |
11 to 15 |
15 |
1.15 |
0.74 |
1.57 |
≥ 16 |
8 |
0.90 |
0.61 |
1.20 |
Table 5Egger’s regression results.
k |
t
|
df |
p
|
Bias |
Se-bias |
Slope |
63 |
9.907 |
61 |
< 0.0001 |
5.916 |
0.597 |
− 0.860 |
Table 6Trim and fill results.
Publication bias |
k |
ES (g) |
95% CI |
Q (df) |
p
|
LL |
UL |
Trim and fill |
87 |
0.67 |
0.43 |
0.91 |
882.10 (86) |
< 0.0001 |