Investigation of the Effects of Different Physiotherapy Approaches Applied to Patients With Chronic Non-Specific Neck Pain on Pain Level, Grip Strength and Manual Dexterity: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Neck pain is one of the musculoskeletal disorders with a high prevalence in the adult population. Its prevalence in the world varies between 16.7% and 75.1% and is generally more common in women than in men. Neck pain is a public health problem that should be considered in terms of individual health and general well-being as well as health expenditures. As a result of ignoring neck pain, neck pain becomes chronic. Neck pain, which significantly affects the quality of life of individuals with chronic neck pain (CNP), causes restrictions in movement and decreases in upper extremity functions. In particular, the functions of the hand, which are indicators of upper extremity functions frequently used in daily life activities, are the functions of the hand. Studies have found that individuals with chronic neck pain have decreased grip strength and psychomotor skills compared to healthy individuals. Based on this, various treatment methods have been applied to individuals with CNP in many similar studies in the literature to reduce the level of pain, prevent disability, increase performance in daily life activities and increase joint range of motion. There is no study that examines whether the various physical therapy methods frequently applied in this clinic have an effect on the grip strength and manual dexterity of individuals with CNNP by applying them together comparatively. In this context, four different groups will be formed for the research. The first group will receive standard physiotherapy intervention, the second group will receive trigger point therapy for the neck region, the third group will receive kinesiology taping, and the fourth group will receive cervical and scapular mobilization treatment methods. Individuals in all four groups will be advised to do daily home exercise programs and told to apply them. The applications will be applied four times a week for four weeks, for a total of 16 sessions. Then, before and after the application, neck pain levels of individuals with CNNP, fine hand skills evaluation, and grip strength measurements will be made. Thus, it will be found out whether these different treatment approaches will reduce the pain intensity of individuals with CNNP, whether grip strength, which is an important indicator of upper extremity performance, is increased, and whether fine hand skills will be improved. The purpose of this study; It will be determined whether different physiotherapy approaches applied to individuals with chronic nonspecific neck pain have an effect on the individuals' pain level, grip strength and manual skills. The results will reveal how different physiotherapy interventions can play a role in pain management and improving upper extremity performance in individuals with CNNP. Similar studies conducted today will be examined with the results we obtain and various solution suggestions will be presented.