Mechanisms of recovery after neck‐specific or general exercises in patients with cervical radiculopathy

Background The mechanisms of action that facilitate improved outcomes after conservative rehabilitation are unclear in individuals with cervical radiculopathy (CR). This study aims to determine the pathways of recovery of disability with different exercise programs in individuals with CR. Methods We analysed a dataset of 144 individuals with CR undergoing conservative rehabilitation. Eleven variables collected at baseline, 3, 6 and 12 months follow‐up were used to build a Bayesian Network (BN) model: treatment group (neck‐specific vs. general exercises), age, sex, self‐efficacy, catastrophizing, kinesiophobia, anxiety, neck–arm pain intensity, headache pain intensity and disability. The model was used to quantify the contribution of different mediating pathways on the outcome of disability at 12th months. Results All modelled variables were conditionally independent from treatment groups. A one‐point increase in anxiety at 3rd month was associated with a 2.45‐point increase in 12th month disability (p