Publication Name	World Journal of Orthopedics
Manuscript ID	122158
DOI	10.5312/wjo.122158
Country	Greece

Category	Rehabilitation
Manuscript Type	Minireviews
Article Title	Nociplastic chronic neck pain: From mechanisms to physical therapy clinical practice
Manuscript Source	Invited Manuscript
All Author List	Emmanouil Kapernaros and George A Koumantakis
Funding Agency and Grant Number
Corresponding Author	George A Koumantakis, Associate Professor, Department of Laboratory of Advanced Physiotherapy, University of West Attica, No. 28 Agiou Spyridonos Street, Athens 12243, Attica, Greece. gkoumantakis@uniwa.gr
Key Words	Chronic neck pain; Nociplastic pain; Nociplastic features; Mechanistic pain descriptors; Predominant pain mechanism; Pain hypersensitivity; Sensorimotor training; Graded exposure; Rehabilitation
Core Tip	This review integrates the concept of nociplastic pain, a mechanistic pain descriptor recognized by the International Association for the Study of Pain, into the understanding and rehabilitation of chronic neck pain. It encompasses the pathophysiological framework of altered nociception, proposes a clinical reasoning approach based on the predominant pain mechanism, and translates these concepts into rehabilitation principles including patient education, graded exposure, sensorimotor retraining, and functionally targeted exercise. This mechanism-based framework supports individualized clinical decision-making beyond structural explanations and may reduce the risk of misdirected interventions.
Citation	Kapernaros E, Koumantakis GA. Nociplastic chronic neck pain: From mechanisms to physical therapy clinical practice. World J Orthop 2026; In press DOI: https://doi.org/10.5312/wjo.122158
PDF	122158-in-press.pdf

Received	2026-04-13 05:54
Peer-Review Started	2026-04-13 05:55
First Decision by Editorial Office Director	2026-05-19 07:07
Return for Revision	2026-05-19 07:07
Revised	2026-06-02 07:04
Publication Fee Transferred
Second Decision by Editor	2026-07-02 02:35
Second Decision by Editor-in-Chief
Final Decision by Editorial Office Director	2026-07-02 07:01
Articles in Press	2026-07-02 07:01
Edit the Manuscript by Language Editor
Typeset the Manuscript

ISSN	2218-5836 (online)
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Copyright	©Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2026. No commercial re-use. See Permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.
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