Active vs Passive Multimodal Physiotherapy for Chronic Nonspecific Neck Pain: A Randomized Trial on Physical and Mental Health Outcomes

Physical therapists and physical therapist assistants who treat adults with long-standing neck pain in outpatient, occupational, or community settings, and who want a plain-language account of how active and passive multimodal programs compared head to head.

Physical therapists and physical therapist assistants. Content is also relevant to athletic trainers, occupational therapists, and chiropractors who manage chronic neck pain.

Intended audience

Physical Therapy

Level

Intermediate

Delivery format

Online, asynchronous, self-paced course: interactive reading with audio or video, and a scored post-test.

Based on

This course is based entirely on a single peer-reviewed randomized controlled trial. No claims are made beyond what that trial reported.

Wang J, Nie S, Wang R, He Y, Li M, Cui X, Lu Z, Zou H, Zhao Y, Xu J, Zhao P. Multimodal Active Physiotherapy Versus Multimodal Passive Physiotherapy for Chronic Nonspecific Neck Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial on Dual Outcomes of Physical and Mental Health. Pain Res Manag. 2025;2025:3449647. DOI: 10.1155/prm/3449647. PMID: 41179651. PMCID: PMC12575025.

Trial registration: Chinese Registry of Clinical Trials, ChiCTR2500104619.

After completing this course, you will be able to:

1. Describe the design, population, and two treatment arms of this randomized trial of multimodal active versus multimodal passive physiotherapy for chronic nonspecific neck pain.
2. State what the trial found for its primary outcomes of pain intensity, anxiety, and depression, and for the secondary outcomes on which the two programs differed.
3. Explain the limits the authors placed on their conclusions, including the absence of follow-up, the absence of an untreated comparison group, and the characteristics of the sample.

1. Start Here: How This Course Works
2. Audio Lesson: Active or Passive for Chronic Neck Pain? (about nine minutes)
3. Chronic Nonspecific Neck Pain and the Case for Active Care
4. Inside the Trial: Who Enrolled and What Each Group Received
5. What Changed Over Eight Weeks
6. Where the Two Programs Parted Ways
7. What the Authors Concluded and What They Could Not Say
8. Key Takeaways
9. Post-Test and Course Evaluation

Quinn Millington, PT, DPT, ECS is the instructor of record: the licensed clinician who reviewed this course and signed off on it. The name and credentials print on the certificate.

Disclosures. This course was developed by The ConEd Solution, which has a financial interest in its sale. No outside funding or sponsorship was received. The instructor of record has no affiliation with the authors of the source publication or their institutions.

This course awards 0.5 contact hours (30 min). How you earn them:

1. Complete the course. Every lesson, in order.
2. Pass the post-test. Score 80% or higher. Retakes are allowed.
3. Complete the evaluation. A short form rating each learning objective and the course.
4. Download your certificate. It is issued on completion and stays available in My Account.

The episode time is its measured length. Reading, post-test and evaluation times are estimates.

This course is designed to satisfy the quality requirements state boards set for continuing education. Requirements vary by state, and confirming that a course fits your renewal is up to you. Each state’s own acceptance statement is in the credit panel on this page.

1. This course is based entirely on a single peer-reviewed randomized controlled trial. No claims are made beyond what that trial reported.
2. Wang J, Nie S, Wang R, He Y, Li M, Cui X, Lu Z, Zou H, Zhao Y, Xu J, Zhao P. Multimodal Active Physiotherapy Versus Multimodal Passive Physiotherapy for Chronic Nonspecific Neck Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial on Dual Outcomes of Physical and Mental Health. Pain Res Manag. 2025;2025:3449647. DOI: 10.1155/prm/3449647. PMID: 41179651. PMCID: PMC12575025.
3. Trial registration: Chinese Registry of Clinical Trials, ChiCTR2500104619.