Effect of Core Stabilization Exercises on Patients With Cervical Radiculopathy

Craniovertebral angle ( CVA ) will be measured through lateral photography of patients. Before capturing the picture, Plastic markers will be placed on C7 vertebra and on tragus of ear. Then the picture will be uploaded to kinovea software to measure CVA by measuring the angle between a line connecting two plastic markers and the horizontal. Values more than 49 degrees are considered abnormal indicating forward head posture while values lower than 49 degrees indicate normal head position

Functional outcome will be assessed though Arabic Version of Neck Disability Index (NDI) which is a 10-item self-reported questionnaire. It measures the influence of neck pain on functioning and disability. The patient will be informed that this questionnaire had been designed to give us how your pain had affected your ability to function in daily life. Personal care, lifting, reading, work, driving, sleeping, recreational activities, pain intensity, concentration, and headache are examples of these questions. Each question is assessed on a six-point scale ranging from 0 (no disability) to 5 (major disability). The score will be calculated by adding the scores of each item together. The overall score is out of 50. The results can be expressed as a percentage by multiplying the score by two. The higher NDI score, the greater patient's perceived disability due to neck pain. The Arabic version of NDI is a strong valid method for assessing self-rated disability in patients with neck pain

Neck pain will be assessed though Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) which is used to measure the severity of neck pain. It is a straight line with one end representing no pain and the other end representing the worst imaginable pain. The subject will mark a point on the line that corresponds to the current level of pain he or she experiences. Higher values indicate higher levels of pain while lower values indicate lower levels of pain

Cervical proprioception will be assessed through measurement of cervical Joint Position Error (JPE). Instruments that will be utilized are laser pointer device mounted on participant's head and a chart with a reference point at its center. the chart is positioned 90cm in front of patients. A test of repositioning to a neutral head position (NHP) will be carried out to determine JPE. Participants will move their head away from the start position at the center of the chart which is the NHP to full range and then attempt to reposition the head back to the starting point as accurately as possible while they are blindfolded. The difference between the starting position (zero) and the returning point in the plane of movement will be measured in centimeters and then converted to degrees using this formula angle = tan-1 [error distance/90 cm]. Normal cervical JPE is 4.5 degree. Higher values indicate poor cervical proprioception