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

NCT ID: NCT05213871

Last Updated: 2022-03-25

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 35 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2022-02-01
• Study Completion Date: 2022-03-22

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.

Conditions

Neck Pain; Soft Tissue Injuries

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: DOUBLE

Study Groups

IASTM group

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.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization

Intervention Type: OTHER

For IASTM, the subject will be seated in a comfortable position. The subject's forehead will be rested on his/her forearm on a table in front of him/her. A lubricant (Vaseline) will be applied to the skin around the neck area prior to treatment and the M2T blade will be cleaned with an alcohol pad. The M2T blade will be used, at an angle of 45 without causing discomfort or pain, from the muscle origin to its insertion (sweeping technique), for approximately 3 min. Subjects will be instructed to put an ice pack on the area if they feel any burning sensations after the session. This procedure will be repeated twice a week for four weeks.

Postural correction exercises (PCE)

Intervention Type: OTHER

Postural correction exercises will be applied for patients in groups A and B. This program will be conducted according to the protocols of exercise will be performed as 3 sets of 10 repetitions each for 2 times/ week for 4 weeks. The patients will be instructed to continue the exercises as a daily home program to influence the self-correction kinesthetic awareness. Exercises will be performed while the patients in a neutral sitting posture

myofascial release group

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.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Myofascial release therapy

Intervention Type: OTHER

Firstly, the subject will lay supine with no pillow under his/ her head then the subject will rotate his/her head and neck away from the side which will be treated. Therapist will sit or stand at the corner, edge or top of the treatment table and therapist will place one hand proximal to the shoulder with skin on skin and therapist's fingers pointing towards the subject's elbow on the same side. Other hand of the therapist will be placed inferior to the subject's jaw (body of the mandible), using it as a handle, with fingers pointing towards the top of the subject's head. Then therapist will lean into the subject to the tissue depth barrier, wait and follow each subtle release three-dimensionally. Therapist should avoid forcing the tissue or slipping or gliding over the skin. The technique should be applied for at least five minutes for optimal results. This procedure will be repeated twice a week for four weeks.

Postural correction exercises (PCE)

Intervention Type: OTHER

Postural correction exercises will be applied for patients in groups A and B. This program will be conducted according to the protocols of exercise will be performed as 3 sets of 10 repetitions each for 2 times/ week for 4 weeks. The patients will be instructed to continue the exercises as a daily home program to influence the self-correction kinesthetic awareness. Exercises will be performed while the patients in a neutral sitting posture

Interventions

Instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization

For IASTM, the subject will be seated in a comfortable position. The subject's forehead will be rested on his/her forearm on a table in front of him/her. A lubricant (Vaseline) will be applied to the skin around the neck area prior to treatment and the M2T blade will be cleaned with an alcohol pad. The M2T blade will be used, at an angle of 45 without causing discomfort or pain, from the muscle origin to its insertion (sweeping technique), for approximately 3 min. Subjects will be instructed to put an ice pack on the area if they feel any burning sensations after the session. This procedure will be repeated twice a week for four weeks.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Myofascial release therapy

Firstly, the subject will lay supine with no pillow under his/ her head then the subject will rotate his/her head and neck away from the side which will be treated. Therapist will sit or stand at the corner, edge or top of the treatment table and therapist will place one hand proximal to the shoulder with skin on skin and therapist's fingers pointing towards the subject's elbow on the same side. Other hand of the therapist will be placed inferior to the subject's jaw (body of the mandible), using it as a handle, with fingers pointing towards the top of the subject's head. Then therapist will lean into the subject to the tissue depth barrier, wait and follow each subtle release three-dimensionally. Therapist should avoid forcing the tissue or slipping or gliding over the skin. The technique should be applied for at least five minutes for optimal results. This procedure will be repeated twice a week for four weeks.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Postural correction exercises (PCE)

Postural correction exercises will be applied for patients in groups A and B. This program will be conducted according to the protocols of exercise will be performed as 3 sets of 10 repetitions each for 2 times/ week for 4 weeks. The patients will be instructed to continue the exercises as a daily home program to influence the self-correction kinesthetic awareness. Exercises will be performed while the patients in a neutral sitting posture

Intervention Type: OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

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.

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 35 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

Cairo University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Fatma Abdelfattah Hanafy shewail

Principal investigator

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Fatma Hanafy

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Cairo University

Locations

Outpatient clinic, Faculty of Physical Therapy, Misr university for scientific and technology, Egypt

Cairo, , Egypt

Countries

Egypt

References

Shewail F, Abdelmajeed S, Farouk M, Abdelmegeed M. Instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization versus myofascial release therapy in treatment of chronic neck pain: a randomized clinical trial. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2023 Jun 3;24(1):457. doi: 10.1186/s12891-023-06540-5.

Reference Type: DERIVED

PMID: 37270471 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

Fatma_phd_2022

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id