Spinal mechanisms of pain control.

OBJECTIVES To demonstrate initial results using Khan Kinetic Treatment (KKT) as a chronic neck pain treatment and to present pain control mechanistic theory on which the treatment is based. METHODS A self-reported functional assessment, neck pain questionnaire, and pain medication dose were used as outcome measures for 44 matched patients randomly split into 2 groups ("treatment" and "control"). The treatment group underwent a treatment period consisting of several individual KKT treatments, whereas the control group continued conventional therapy. RESULTS Compared with a control group, the treatment group lowered both their self-recorded neck pain scores (P=0.012) and pain medication dose (P=0.048), although current functional assessment questionnaires (range of motion, overall activity, and recreation/work activities) did not detect changes (P=0.233, 0.311, and 0.472, respectively). DISCUSSION We address the theory of the pain control mechanisms of the device in detail. Although we await randomized placebo controlled trials and additional results from ongoing mechanistic studies, initial results show that KKT is potentially an effective treatment for chronic neck pain and may contribute to the reduction of pain relieving medication.