Abstract

Mechanical neck pain is becoming one of the leading causes of musculoskeletal disorders in the general adult population. Mobilization intervention is considered one of the most effective therapeutic techniques to treat non-specific neck pain. The purpose of this study was to investigate the benefit of adding stretching exercises as part of a rehabilitation program for patients with non-specific mechanical neck pain. Methods: Thirty-eight subjects with non-specific neck pain for at least 2 weeks with mean± SD age 30.9±8.1 years and body mass index (BMI) 26.8±6.7 kg/m2 participated in the study. Participants were randomly assigned to either the combined intervention (passive cervical mobilization and stretching techniques) (n1=18) or standard intervention group (n2=20). The outcome measures were Cervical range of motion (CROM), Numeric Pain Rating scale, Neck Disability Index, Global Rating of Change (GROC), and pressure pain threshold.

Results: There was a significant difference in mean CROM during extension over time (p=0.002, η2=0.20), and a significant group by time interaction (p=0.02). The percent improvement from baseline to 4 weeks later was significant between the combined intervention and standard intervention groups (18.9% vs. 3.0%; p=0.02). Also, there was a significant difference in mean CROM during right lateral flexion over time (p<0.001, η2=0.30), and a significant group by time interaction (p=0.04). The percent improvement from baseline to 4 weeks was significant between the combined intervention and standard intervention groups (23.2% vs. 10.8%; p=0.04). However, subjective outcome measures including pain, patient’s satisfaction and neck disability index significantly improved overtime with no significant differences between the two study groups. Over time, there was a significant difference in mean right upper trapezius muscle pain threshold (p=0.02), and for GROC (p<0.001, η2=0.54), however, there was no significant group by time interaction, and the improvement over time did not differ by study group (p>0.05).

Conclusions: Four weeks of combined techniques (cervical mobilization plus stretching exercises) showed to be more effective than standard intervention in terms of improving cervical extension and lateral flexion CROM.

LLU Discipline

Physical Therapy

Department

Physical Therapy

School

School of Allied Health Professions

First Advisor

Everett Lohman III

Second Advisor

Noha Daher

Third Advisor

Hatem Jaber

Degree Name

Doctor of Science (DSc)

Degree Level

D.Sc.

Year Degree Awarded

2018

Date (Title Page)

6-2018

Language

English

Library of Congress/MESH Subject Headings

Neck Pain-rehabilitation; Exercise Therapy; Outcome Assessment, Health Care

Type

Dissertation

Page Count

xi, 66 p.

Digital Format

PDF

Digital Publisher

Loma Linda University Libraries

Usage Rights

This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has granted Loma Linda University a limited, non-exclusive right to make this publication available to the public. The author retains all other copyrights.

Collection

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Collection Website

http://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/etd/

Repository

Loma Linda University. Del E. Webb Memorial Library. University Archives

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