Efficacy of Deep Cervical Flexor Muscles Training on Neck Pain, Functional Disability and Muscle Endurance in School Teachers

Efficacy of Deep Cervical Flexor Muscles Training on Neck Pain, Functional Disability and Muscle Endurance in School Teachers

Efficacy of Deep Cervical Flexor Muscles Training on Neck Pain, Functional Disability and Muscle Endurance in School Teachers

Neck pain (NP) is a common work related disorder. Teaching is one profession in which its prevalence is high. The Daily job of a school teacher involves head down posture while reading, writing, etc., exposing them to risk of developing NP. Deep cervical flexor (DCF) muscles have been shown to have lower endurance in patients with cervical impairment which has been associated with disability. There is limited evidence that reports efficacy of DCF muscles training in occupational NP. This study was done to see the effect of DCF muscles training using pressure biofeedback on pain, muscle endurance and functional disability in school teachers with NP.

Neck pain (NP) is a common work related disorder. Teaching is one profession in which its prevalence is high. The Daily job of a school teacher involves head down posture while reading, writing, etc., exposing them to risk of developing NP. Deep cervical flexor (DCF) muscles have been shown to have lower endurance in patients with cervical impairment which has been associated with disability. There is limited evidence that reports efficacy of DCF muscles training in occupational NP. This study was done to see the effect of DCF muscles training using pressure biofeedback on pain, muscle endurance and functional disability in school teachers with NP. 65 teachers, aged between 25 to 45 years with experience of more than 5 years were agreed to participate in this study. Subjects were randomly divided into two groups, experimental (EG) and control group (CG). In EG, subjects received DCF muscles training using pressure biofeedback in addition to conventional exercises for neck pain while in CG subjects received only conventional exercises. Pain, muscle endurance and disability measured at day 0 (before treatment), day 14 and day 42 after treatment. Endurance of DCF muscles was measured by CCF test using pressure biofeedback instrument, Pain intensity was measured using NPRS and Functional disability was assessed using NDI questionnaire.

Numeric pain rating scale (NPRS): NPRS. Subjects had to rate their pain on the 0-10 rating scale, where 0 means no pain while 10 is the worst possible pain.

Functional disability was assessed using Neck disability index (NDI) questionnaire. Subjects had to answer the multiple choice questions and their score was interpreted on range from 0 to 50, 0 being no disability and 50 indicating complete disability.

Inclusion Criteria: experience of more than 5 years neck pain score of more than 5 on numeric pain rating scale (NPRS), mild to moderate disability score on neck disability index (NDI) and poor cranio-cervical flexion (CCF) test Exclusion Criteria: any neurological sign or symptom, history of spinal surgery or if they were taking any treatment for their pain.

Iqbal ZA, Alghadir AH, Anwer S. Efficacy of Deep Cervical Flexor Muscle Training on Neck Pain, Functional Disability, and Muscle Endurance in School Teachers: A Clinical Trial. Biomed Res Int. 2021 Jan 13;2021:7190808. doi: 10.1155/2021/7190808. eCollection 2021.