Nonoperative management of degenerative cervical radiculopathy: protocol of a systematic review.

Background: Degenerative cervical radiculopathy (DCR) is a common condition which, due to the aging global population, is expected to worsen over time. For the majority of patients with DCR, surgical intervention is not required as nonoperative management is sufficient for symptom improvement. However, there are significant gaps within the literature as the majority of past systematic reviews assessing conservative interventions are outdated, or omit relevant studies due to strict inclusion/exclusion criteria. Therefore, an updated understanding of the effectiveness of noninvasive nonoperative management for DCR is required.

Methods: We will search MEDLINE, CENTRAL, Embase, PsycINFO, and CINAHL from inception, as well as hand-search reference lists of included studies and previous systematic reviews, to identify peer-reviewed randomized controlled trials on this topic.

Discussion: The results of this review will provide an understanding of the effectiveness of various nonoperative interventions. The quality of evidence will also be assessed using the GRADE approach.

Systematic review registration: PROSPERO CRD42021249699.