MedDataX Logo

Joint Mobilization vs. Strengthening Exercises on Cervical Proprioception for Nonspecific Neck Pain

NCT ID: NCT06960525

Last Updated: 2025-12-30

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

Get a concise snapshot of the trial, including recruitment status, study phase, enrollment targets, and key timeline milestones.

Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

26 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2024-10-20

Study Completion Date

2025-02-20

Brief Summary

Review the sponsor-provided synopsis that highlights what the study is about and why it is being conducted.

This clinical trial aims to compare the effects of cervical joint mobilization versus cervical strengthening exercises in patients with chronic neck pain. The study will assess neck proprioception, pain intensity, cervical muscle strength, range of motion, and neck disability.

The main question it aims to answer is:

Which treatment is superior, or do they have equal effects after the first session and after the 12th session?

Participants will:

Receive either cervical joint mobilization or cervical strengthening exercises for 12 sessions.

Do not perform any physical therapy treatment outside the trial. Visit the clinic three times per week for treatment.

Detailed Description

Dive into the extended narrative that explains the scientific background, objectives, and procedures in greater depth.

Neck pain refers to a type of generalized neck discomfort characterized by mechanical features. This condition is a widespread issue, causing significant levels of pain, disability, and can lead to economical strain. Patients suffering from neck pain often experience functional impairments, including weak neck muscles and impaired proprioception. Strengthening exercises and cervical joint mobilization offer effective relief of pain and improve disability. Exploring the superiority of these techniques in improving cervical proprioception to prevent recurrence is still a vague topic. Therefore, this study will investigate the effect of Maitland joint mobilization versus cervical strengthening exercises in patients with nonspecific chronic neck pain on neck proprioception, pain intensity, cervical muscles strength, range of motion and neck disability. This is a double-blinded randomized clinical trial with a parallel-group design. Twenty-six participants will be allocated randomly to one of two groups. Group one (Mobilization) will have cervical joint mobilization according to Maitland approach. Group two (Exercises) will perform craniocervical, cervical and axioscapular muscles strengthening exercises. Treatment will be provided for 12 sessions. Both groups will receive standardized care, including patient education and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation.

Conditions

See the medical conditions and disease areas that this research is targeting or investigating.

Chronic Neck Pain Nonspecific Neck Pain

Keywords

Explore important study keywords that can help with search, categorization, and topic discovery.

chronic neck pain Nonspecific neck pain cervical proprioception cervical mobilization cervical strengthening exercises neck cervical proprioception mobilization manual strengthening pain

Study Design

Understand how the trial is structured, including allocation methods, masking strategies, primary purpose, and other design elements.

Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

This is a double-blinded randomized clinical trial with a parallel-group design.
Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

DOUBLE

Caregivers Outcome Assessors

Study Groups

Review each arm or cohort in the study, along with the interventions and objectives associated with them.

Joint mobilization group

This group will receive passive cervical joint mobilization following Maitland's approach for 3 sets of 1 minute on the most painful segment with one minute rest between sets. The specific technique and most painful level will be determined during the clinical examination. The participant lies prone on a treatment bed, then the therapist uses both thumbs to apply grade III or IV based on the patient's irritability using posteroanterior pressure to the cervical spinous process or articular pillar, with a rhythm of 2 to 3 Hz per second. This intervention could be applied in different positions of the cervical spine, depending on the patient's response, in a pain-free manner.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Cervical joint mobilization

Intervention Type OTHER

Passive cervical joint mobilization following Maitland's approach for 3 sets of 1 minute on the most painful segment with one minute rest between sets.

Strengthening exercises group

The exercise program will include concentric and eccentric training of the craniocervical, cervical flexors, extensors, muscles involved in cervical spine rotation and axioscapular muscles. The strengthening exercises with high frequency - low intensity will be performed. Low frequency - high intensity will be implemented when the patient's irritability is low.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

cervical strengthening exercises

Intervention Type OTHER

concentric and eccentric training of the craniocervical, cervical flexors, extensors, muscles involved in cervical spine rotation and axioscapular muscles.

Interventions

Learn about the drugs, procedures, or behavioral strategies being tested and how they are applied within this trial.

Cervical joint mobilization

Passive cervical joint mobilization following Maitland's approach for 3 sets of 1 minute on the most painful segment with one minute rest between sets.

Intervention Type OTHER

cervical strengthening exercises

concentric and eccentric training of the craniocervical, cervical flexors, extensors, muscles involved in cervical spine rotation and axioscapular muscles.

Intervention Type OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

Check the participation requirements, including inclusion and exclusion rules, age limits, and whether healthy volunteers are accepted.

Inclusion Criteria

* 18 to 50 years
* Pain ≥ 3 months
* Neck pain on VAS ≥ 3/10
* NDI ≥ 5/50 points
* ZZ Errors ≥ 9 or the time to complete the task ≥ 28s

Exclusion Criteria

* Unilateral headache aggravated by neck movement.
* Upper extremity symptoms beyond the elbow.
* Any history of neck trauma including whiplash
* Recent fractures (last 8 weeks)
* Cervical surgery (last 3 months)
* Current neck-related dizziness
* Known or suspected ves3bular pathology
* Internal fixation of the cervical spine
* Physical therapy for the neck (last 3 months)
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

50 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

Meet the organizations funding or collaborating on the study and learn about their roles.

Al Hada Military Hospital

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

Identify the individual or organization who holds primary responsibility for the study information submitted to regulators.

Faisal Fahad Alharthi

Principal investigator

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Learn about the lead researchers overseeing the trial and their institutional affiliations.

Ali M Alshami, Phd

Role: STUDY_DIRECTOR

Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University

Locations

Explore where the study is taking place and check the recruitment status at each participating site.

Armed Forces Hospital - Al Hada

Ta'if, Mecca Region, Saudi Arabia

Site Status

Countries

Review the countries where the study has at least one active or historical site.

Saudi Arabia

References

Explore related publications, articles, or registry entries linked to this study.

Blanpied PR, Gross AR, Elliott JM, Devaney LL, Clewley D, Walton DM, Sparks C, Robertson EK. Neck Pain: Revision 2017. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2017 Jul;47(7):A1-A83. doi: 10.2519/jospt.2017.0302.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 28666405 (View on PubMed)

de Zoete RMJ. Exercise Therapy for Chronic Neck Pain: Tailoring Person-Centred Approaches within Contemporary Management. J Clin Med. 2023 Nov 15;12(22):7108. doi: 10.3390/jcm12227108.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 38002720 (View on PubMed)

de Zoete RM, Armfield NR, McAuley JH, Chen K, Sterling M. Comparative effectiveness of physical exercise interventions for chronic non-specific neck pain: a systematic review with network meta-analysis of 40 randomised controlled trials. Br J Sports Med. 2020 Nov 2:bjsports-2020-102664. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2020-102664. Online ahead of print.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 33139256 (View on PubMed)

Ernst MJ, Williams L, Werner IM, Crawford RJ, Treleaven J. Clinical assessment of cervical movement sense in those with neck pain compared to asymptomatic individuals. Musculoskelet Sci Pract. 2019 Oct;43:64-69. doi: 10.1016/j.msksp.2019.06.006. Epub 2019 Jul 2.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 31277033 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

Review additional registry numbers or institutional identifiers associated with this trial.

14-2024-06-07-95

Identifier Type: REGISTRY

Identifier Source: secondary_id

IRB-PGS-2024-03-574

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id