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Completed

NCT Number: NCT05262062

Integrated Neuromuscular Inhibition, Muscle Energy and Strain Counter Strain Techniques in Neck Pain

1. To determine effects of Neuromuscular Inhibition, Muscle energy and strain counter strain techniques on Pain, disability, pain pressure threshold, range of motion, and health-related quality of life in mechanical neck pain. 2. To compare the effects of Integrated Neuromuscular inhibition, Muscle energy and strain counter strain techniques in the Management of mechanical neck pain.

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Key information

Conditions

Neck Pain Neurologic Manifestations Pain Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms Signs and Symptoms

Age range

30 year–60 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Atta Memorial Hospital

Rawalpindi, Punjab Province, 46222, Pakistan

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Participants falling in this category would be recruited into the study.
  • Patients with chronic mechanical neck pain (symptoms for more than 3 months).
  • Age group between 30 - 60 years.
  • Patients willing to participate and take treatment.
  • Patients must have at least 1 active trigger point at upper trapezius, levator scapulae, SCM.
  • Gender (Both)
  • VAS >3

Exclusion criteria

  • • Patients having severe neck pain.
  • Patients having any systemic joint pathology, inflammatory joint disease (e.g rheumatoid arthritis, gouty arthritis, psoriatic arthritis).
  • Patients who had any neurological deficit, myelopathy any mental illness.
  • Patients on medication like antidepressants, corticosteroid, anti-inflammatory medications.

Treatment and study plan

strain counter strain technique

Other

When general or local pain began to diminish, upper trapezius , levator scapulae and SCM was placed in a position of ease and was held for approximately 20 to 30 seconds.

  • Moderate digital pressure was applied to the identified MTrP as participants rated their level of pain on a scale ranging from 1 to 10.
  • Ease was defined as the point at which a reduction in pain of at least 70% was achieved.
  • Once the position of ease was identified, it was held for 20 to 30 seconds.

Muscle Energy Technique,

Other

After the ease position was maintained for 20 to 30sec an isometric contraction focused on the muscle fibers around the MTrP was performed.

  • Each isometric contraction was held for 7 to 10 sec and was followed by a soft-tissue stretch for 15 seconds and then relax for 30 seconds. Each stretch was held for 30 seconds, and it was repeated 3 times during the treatment session.
  • Treatment was performed on the 3 most painful areas between the upper border of the upper trapezius muscle, the SCM, the levator scapulae, and the SC muscle.

Integrated Neuromuscular Inhibition technique

Other
  • Group c will receive Combination of exercise (strain counter strain , muscle energy & ischemic compression. In ischemic compression patient will receive compression,
  • After MTrPs identification,
  • Ischemic compression was applied in an intermittent manner for up to 2 minutes for each MTrP.
  • The pincer grasp (for the trapezius muscle and SCM) or direct digital pressure (for the levator scapulae and SC muscle) was used with the patients in either the supine position or sitting upright

Primary outcomes

  1. • Visual analog scale.

    Time frame: 4 weeks

    Pain was assessed by the VAS, which is a card with an uncalibrated scale ranging from 0 to 10. 0 represent no pain and 10 represent the highest level of pain. A vertical line on the scale drawn by the patient marked their subjective pain estimation ranging from 0 to 10. Subsequently, a single ruler was used to record the exact pain level. The reliability of the scale is quite satisfactory, especially in people with moderate and high educational levels (r = .94, P = .001) (6). reference for tools should be added

  2. • Neck disability index.

    Time frame: 4 Weeks

    Disability was evaluated using the NDI questionnaire. It is a self-reported 10-item scale. Each item assesses different neck pain complaints. Most of the items are related to restrictions in activities of daily life, and each item is expressed by 6 different assertions in the range 0 to 5, with 0 indicating no disability and 5 indicating the highest disability. The total score ranges from 0 to 50. Its credibility in people with neck pain is moderate to high and has been considered a valid tool in patients with neck problems. NDI has high reliability i.e. ICC 0.97 and good internal validity i.e. Cronbach's alpha = 0.86.(6)

  3. • 36-Item Short Form Health Survey score

    Time frame: 4 Week

    SF-36 consists of 36 questions, selected from the Medical Outcomes Study. These questions are related to 8 different parameters of mental and physical health.SF-36 has satisfactory support in the literature.51 Total Physical and Mental Health, and the subcategory of Bodily Pain, were evaluated in this study. SF-36 shows a high rate of validity and reliability in patients with neck pain. In all 8 categories, both the ICC and the Cronbach's alpha index are high 0.75-0.94 and 0.69-0.88, correspondingly

  4. • Goniometer

    Time frame: 4 Week

    Goniometer measures the available range of motion of cervical flexion, extension, rotation and side bending. To see the restriction in cervical moments we compare the available ROM's to the normal ROM's.

  5. algometer

    Time frame: 4th Week

    Pressure pain threshold is measured by Pressure algometry was conducted using a Wagner digital algometer (Wagner FPX 25 Digital Algometer; Wagner Instruments, Greenwich, CT). PPT was assessed bilaterally over the upper border of the trapezius muscle, halfway between the midline and the lateral border of the acromion, the levator scapulae muscle 2 cm above the lower insertion and located in the upper medial border of the scapulae, the SCM upper insertion, and the SC 2 cm lateral to the spinous processes of the axis. The metal rod of the algometer was placed vertically on the site, and the examiner applied gradually increasing pressure at a rate of 1 kg/s. The examinees indicated when they began to feel pain or discomfort. Then, the examiner ceased the pressure and noted the value. Pressure algometry showed from satisfactory to fairly high reliability by various researchers both in repeated measurements of the same examiner and between measurements of different examiners.(14)

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Riphah International University

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Effect of Integrated Neuromuscular Inhibition, Muscle Energy and Strain Counter Strain Techniques in the Management of Mechanical Neck Pain.

Important dates

Study start
2021
Primary completion
2022
Study completion
2022
First posted
Mar 2, 2022
Registry last updated
Jul 10, 2023

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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