Khan Kinetic Treatment Lowers Self-Reported Neck Pain, but No Functional Differences Found

Neck pain appears to occur in about 34 percent of people in the Western world, with more women reporting such pain than men. Chronic pain, characterized as pain that lasts longer than 6 months, often results from injuries such as whiplash. This type of injury, which is usually the result of a motor vehicle accident, happens in anywhere from 14.5 out of 1000 working women in the United States to 0.1 out of 1000 in New Zealand. The cost of treatment and reimbursement is high because of the difficulty in treating the pain. Researchers in the United States have come up with a theory about spinal stability and the causes of spinal pain. They identified 3 subsystems that are inter-related yet still separate. The passive subsystem is made up of the vertebrae, or the bones in the spine, the joints, the ligaments, or the tissue that holds the joints together, and the disks. The second part is made up of the muscles and tendons, and the third part is made of the nerves that run up and down the spine. The researchers suggest that any disturbance in any of the subsystems will cause pain. The Khan Kinetic Treatment (KKT) system was developed in Canada for treating pain resulting from spinal abnormalities. The system uses high-frequency waves that deliver pain relief to the immediate area. The authors of this study wanted to see if the KKT would help relieve pain in any of the subsystems identified in the above-mentioned spine model. If this treatment is successful, it could result in patients taking fewer medications. Forty-four patients participated in the study, 24 were female. They were aged between 18 and 70 years old, with the average age being 43. All had recurring neck pain; the majority was taking some sort of medication for the pain, including non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs), opioids, muscle relaxants, antidepressants, or a combination of some of these medications. The injuries were caused by motor vehicle accident, sports injuries, falls, degeneration, repetative strain, unspecified trauma, fibromyalgia, and in 2 cases, unknown. The patients had x-rays done of the cervical (neck) spine, which were analyzed by computer software. The patients also completed self-assessments regarding their neck pain, following the format set out by the Pain Outcomes Questionnaire developed by the American Academy of Pain Management. The patients were asked to rate their pain on a scale of 1 to 10 at the start of the study and at the study end. Other assessments were of the neck function (mobility or range of motion), ability to participate in recreational or work activities, and overall activity score. One hundred was the best score, zero was the worst. The patients received the KKT in 6 to 12 individual treatments; each treatment lasted between 6 to 12 minutes. These were conducted over a period of 3 to 6 weeks. When the researchers looked at the study results, they found that there were no significant differences in function among any of the patients whether they received treatment or were in the control group. However, there was a difference in pain. Those patients who received the KKT did report a lower use of pain medication. The authors of this study continue to explain how spinal manipulation and impulse treatment has been used to ease neck pain over the past centuries. The say that it is obvious that the effectiveness of such treatment, done traditionally with bare hands, depends greatly on the practitioner him or herself, and the patient's anatomy. With the use of KKT, these variables may be eliminated. In conclusion, the authors state that initial results show that KKT caused significant decreases in neck pain of neuromusculoskeletal origin and decreased medication use. However, they point out that there was no change in how the patients reported their functional ability. They suggest that blinded, placebo studies be done to further explore the effectiveness of KKT.