Effect of Instrument-assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization Versus Myofascial Release in Treatment of Mechanical Neck Pain

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Neck Pain; Soft Tissue Injuries
• Interventions: Other: Myofascial release therapy; Other: Instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization; Other: Postural correction exercises (PCE)

• Registration Number: NCT05213871
• Lead Sponsor: Cairo University

Brief Summary

Mechanical neck pain has become a major health problem recently, affecting around one-year prevalence ranging from 42 to 67% in young adults aged 20-24 years causing pain and functional deficits. No study has been conducted before to investigate the effect of Instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization (IASTM) with mechanical neck pain on university students involved in distance learning.

Detailed Description

Mechanical neck pain is a major social and economic burden. It showed a one-year prevalence ranging from 42 to 67% in young adults aged 20-24 years. Treatment of neck pain is costly in terms of utilization of health care services, disability, compensation payments and lost work productivity. With the increasing prevalence of pain and disability associated with musculoskeletal impairments, it is essential to identify the most efficacious interventions to maximize patient outcomes and decrease the societal burden.

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2022-01-16
• Study First Submitted QC: 2022-01-16
• Study First Posted: 2022-01-28
• Study Start: 2022-02-01
• Status Verified: 2022-03
• Primary Completion: 2022-03-15
• Study Completion: 2022-03-22
• Last Update Submitted: 2022-03-24
• Last Update Posted: 2022-03-25

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 35

Inclusion Criteria

1. Patient's age will be between 18-25 years old.
2. Subjects with mechanical neck pain localized to cervical and periscapular region.
3. Subjects with at least one trigger point in the upper trapezius and/or levator scapulae muscles
4. Subjects should report mechanical neck pain of at least 30 mm on a visual analogue scale (VAS). The scale is ranged from 0 mm (no pain) to 100 mm (worst imaginable pain).
5. Subjects who use computers daily for at least two hours and are involved in distance learning for at least three months.

Exclusion Criteria

1. Any specific neck pathology as radiculopathy, rheumatoid arthritis, and systemic diseases.
2. Sensory problems at mid or upper back
3. A tendency to hemorrhage or anticoagulation treatment. And nonsteroidal pain medication
4. History of head and upper trunk trauma or surgery.
5. Signs of severe pathology such as malignancy, fractures of the cervical spine, cervical radiculopathy or myelopathy, or vascular syndromes such as vertebrobasilar insufficiency.

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
myofascial release group	Myofascial release therapy	Group (B) will receive a myofascial release on the right upper trapezius and levator scapulae twice a week for four weeks in addition to the postural correction program.
myofascial release group	Postural correction exercises (PCE)	Group (B) will receive a myofascial release on the right upper trapezius and levator scapulae twice a week for four weeks in addition to the postural correction program.
IASTM group	Instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization	Group (A) will receive IASTM on the right upper trapezius and levator scapulae twice a week for four weeks in addition to a postural correction program.
IASTM group	Postural correction exercises (PCE)	Group (A) will receive IASTM on the right upper trapezius and levator scapulae twice a week for four weeks in addition to a postural correction program.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Pain intensity assessment	at baseline and after 4 weeks of intervention	Assessing the change in pain intensity via using visual analogue scale which will be used to examine pain intensity. It consists of a continuous 10 cm line. The patient will be instructed to place a vertical mark on the line to indicate his/her pain, ranging from no pain or discomfort (0), to the worst pain he/she could possibly feel . Using the visual analogue scale allows the patient freedom to record and not restricting him by numbers.
Neck disability index	at baseline and after 4 weeks of intervention	Assessing the change in neck disability via using Neck disability index which is is a self-reported outcome measure which is commonly used to determine the perceived disability in patients with neck pain. It consists of 10 items; 7 related to activities of daily living, (ADL), 2 related to pain, and 1 related to concentration. Each item is scored from 0-5 and the total score is expressed as percentage, with higher scores corresponding to greater disability.
Muscle pressure intensity	at baseline and after 4 weeks of intervention	Assessing the change in Muscle pressure intensity via using Pressure Algometer which is a handheld device that applies a manual pressure stimulus to assess pressure intensity. It has been broadly used and validated. A pressure threshold algometer will be used to measure the pressure pain threshold of a Trigger points of the upper trapezius and levator scapulae muscle before and aftertreatment.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Outpatient clinic, Faculty of Physical Therapy, Misr university for scientific and technology, Egypt; 🇪🇬 Cairo, Egypt