Effects Of Deep Neck Flexor And Extensor Exercises

Effects Of Deep Neck Flexor And Extensor Exercises On Pain, Range Of Motion And Muscle Strength In Mechanical Neck Pain

Deep cervical flexor and extensor muscles show decreased strength in patients with Mechanical neck pain. Exercises involving deep cervical muscles has improved coordination and motor control. This study aim to determine the effects of deep flexor muscle exercises along with deep extensor muscle exercises on pain, range of motion and muscle strength in mechanical neck pain.

This study will be a randomized controlled trial and will be conducted in Riphah Rehabilitation Clinic Lahore and Physiotherapy outpatient department of WAPDA Teaching Hospital Lahore. Non-probability consecutive sampling will be used to collect the data. Sample size of 36 subjects with age group between 18-40 years will be taken. Data will be collected from the patients having present complaint of Mechanical Neck pain. Outcome measures will be taken using Numeric pain rating scale (NPRS) for pain, Manual Muscle Testing (MMT) for muscle strength and Universal Goniometer (GU) for Range of motion. An informed consent will be taken. Subjects will be selected on the basis of inclusion and exclusion criteria and will be equally divided into two groups by random number generator table. Both the Groups will receive Hot Pack, superficial neck muscles stretching and Neck isometrics, while Group A will receive deep neck flexor and extensor exercises, and Group B will receive conventional treatment. Outcome measures will be measured at baseline and after 4 weeks. Data analysis will be done by SPSS version 25.

Group A Patients will receive: Deep neck flexor exercises (2 set of 10 repetitions) that includes: Contraction of deep neck flexor muscle in supine Craniocervical flexion in supine Deep Neck Extensor exercises (2 set of 10 repetitions) that includes: Contraction of deep neck extensors in quadruped position Segmented extension movement with the head bent down onto their chest in a horizontal direction,

Standardized Physiotherapy treatment will be: Hot pack for 10 minutes, SNAG manual therapy at Cervical spine 6 repetitions for 60 seconds. Superficial neck muscles (upper trapezius, Levator scapulae, Pect.Major) stretching for 3 times with 30 seconds and Neck isometrics 10 times with 6 seconds hold. Both groups will come thrice per week for a total of 4 weeks. Pre and post treatment values of both groups will be analyzed

Deep neck flexor exercises (2 set of 10 repetitions) that includes: Contraction of deep neck flexor muscle in supine Craniocervical flexion in supine Deep Neck Extensor exercises (2 set of 10 repetitions) that includes: Contraction of deep neck extensors in quadruped position Segmented extension movement with the head bent down onto their chest in a horizontal direction,

The Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS) (an outcome measure) that is a unidimensional measure of pain intensity in adults, including those with chronic pain. The NPRS is a segmented numeric version in which a respondent selects a whole number (0-10 integers) that best reflects the intensity of pain. The 11-point numeric scale ranges from '0' representing one pain extreme (e.g. "no pain") to '10' representing the other pain extreme (e.g. "pain as bad as you can imagine" or "worst pain imaginable"). The NPRS takes <1 minute to complete The NPRS is a valid and reliable scale to measure pain intensity; High test-retest reliability has been (r = 0.96 and 0.95, respectively) For construct validity, the NPRS was shown to be highly correlated: correlations range from 0.86 to 0.95

Muscle strength will be assessed by Manual muscle testing. Which is scored using a 0-5 points Medical Research Council muscle strength scale. MMT is the most commonly used method for documenting impairments in muscle strength in both spine and periphery with a kappa value 0.88.

A goniometer is an instrument that measures the available range of motion at a joint. To measure the range of motion physical therapists most commonly use a goniometer. It is necessary that a single notation system is used in goniometry. The neutral zero method (0 to 180- degree system) is the most widely used method. The same goniometer should always be used to reduce the chances of instrumental error. The range of motion of neck including flexion and extension will be measured by using universal goniometer that has an inter-rater reliability (ICC2, 2 = 0.79 to 0.92) for cervicle region.

Pressure biofeedback unit if placed under the suboccipital region and the pressure cuff is inflated to a pressure of 20 mmHg in order to fill the space of the cervical lordosis and the subject asked to perform a gentle head-nodding action of craniocervical flexion (indicating yes). Maximum pressure increase above the baseline upto 10 mmHg achieved and held for 10 seconds is defined as strength of deep cervical flexors.

Inclusion Criteria: Males and Females 18 and 40 years of age Forward Head Posture Manual Muscle testing (MMT) grade less than 6 Deep Flexor strength measured by pressure biofeedback unit (20 mmHg), patients who cannot hold craniocervical flexion (indicating yes) for 10 seconds Exclusion Criteria: Cervical radiculopathy History of whiplash injury History of cervical and thoracic spine surgery Neck pain associated with vertigo History of spinal osteoporosis Vertebral Fractures Tumors Diagnosed psychological disorders

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