The Effect of Combination Therapy; Manual Therapy and Exercise, in Patients With Non-Specific Chronic Neck Pain: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Abstract

Neck pain is one of the most common health problems that its prevalence ranges from 34% to 50%. Chronic Neck Pain (CNP) is also a frequent complaint in the general population. The pathogenesis of nonspecific CNP is not clear. This study aimed to assess the effects of soft tissue release, muscle energy techniques and exercise on neck Range of Motion (ROM), Neck Disability Index (NDI), and pain in patients with nonspecific CNP. Methods: This is a randomized, single-blind, clinical study conducted on two groups of patients in Iran, during 2016-2017. Group A received intervention treatment and group B, as control, received no treatment for 21 days. Each group consisted of 12 participants who were selected considering inclusion and exclusion criteria. Each patient in group A received manual treatment protocols (soft tissue release and muscle energy techniques) plus exercise therapy, in six sessions, one session per day, two days a week over a period of 21 days. Clinical assessments were performed at the first and last session (before and after the treatment). Before starting the study, the reliabilities of measurement methods were evaluated and the results were acceptable. Clinical assessments included neck ROM, NDI and pain based on Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Repeated measures ANOVA test was performed for data analysis using SPSS (version 20). Results: Totally, 16 women and 8 men were participated in this study. To test the hypothesis and analysis of the study variables at regular intervals from the beginning to the end of treatment, repeated measures ANOVA was used. In the intervention group, the indexes showed significant improvements (P<0.001). This means that our intervention treatment was effective. Conclusion: The study results support the effectiveness of the combination therapy (soft tissue release, muscle energy techniques plus exercise therapy) with some improvements in the neck ROM, NDI and pain (Based on VAS scores) for the management of patients with non-specific CNP.

Effect of a telerehabilitation exercise program versus a digital booklet with self-care for patients with chronic non-specific neck pain: a protocol of a randomized controlled trial assessor-blinded, 3 months follow-up

“…Exercise will progress by varying the repetitions, load, and a self-rated effort level of at least 5 out of 10 (hard) on a modified Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion scale [ 41 ]. In the fifth and sixth weeks, exercise series of 12 to 15 repetitions is expected to be performed with 1 kg and 2 kg objects (dumbbells, water container, others), respectively [ 32 , 42 – 45 ].…”

Kineziterapijos poveikis sėdimą darbą dirbančių moterų kaklo skausmui, judesių amplitudei ir raumenų funkcijai

“…Visgi tiek apžvelgiant kitus tyrimus, kuriuose taikyta tik pratimų programa ir pratimų programa, kombinuota su masažu, tiek mūsų rezultatai rodo, kad kombinuotos mankštos ir masažo programos poveikis yra statistiškai reikšmingai geresnis, nei taikant tik vieną iš jų. Trumpalaikis ir ilgalaikis kombinuotų procedūrų (pratimų ir manualinės terapijos) poveikis nespecifinio kaklo skausmo mažinimui, lyginant su akupunktūra, vaistais, elektroterapija, visgi buvo veiksmingiausias (Ghodrati et al, 2017).…”

Home-based neck stabilization exercise program among female college students with non-specific neck pain – a pilot study in saudi arabia

“…About 64% of individuals go through this pain at some age in their life, especially during their middle age [4,5]. However, increasing evidence suggests that undergraduate college students have a high prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms in the neck and upper extremities, which ranges from 48-78% [6,7]. This could be because of using computers and other electronic gadgets for prolonged periods during their study duration [8].…”