Abstract:

Purpose: This study was aimed at studying the effect of manual therapy (MT) on cervical muscle hardness in individuals with chronic neck pain (KBA). Tools and Methods: This study was designed as a prospective clinical study. The study included individuals with 10 KBA (age: 43.30±4.92 years, body mass index: 26.82±4.30 kg/m2). Sternokleidomastoid (SKM), levator skapula (LS) and the upper part of trapezine (TRP) muscle hardness was evaluated with the treatment with tension (compression) elastography with rest, night and activity pain severity with visual analog scale with the pain in the neck. MT, which includes soft tissue and joint mobilization techniques, was done 2 days a week, for 6 weeks. When it provided parametric test assumptions to compare the effects of pre- and post-treatment MT, when the combined sampling t-test was not provided, the Wilcoxon-marked sequence test was used. Results: After six weeks of MT, LS (p=0,180) and TRP (p=0,317) muscle hardness did not change, while SKM (p=0,024) muscle hardness, rest (p=0,008), night (p=0,005) and activity (p=0,005) pain severity and BÖG-T score (p=0,001) decreased. Result: In this pilot study, individuals with KBA found that 6 week MT had a positive effect on reducing SKM muscle hardness, severity of neck pain, and the level of defect related to neck pain. In individuals with KBA, randomized controlled studies are required in larger sampling groups to study the impact of MT on cervical muscle hardness.

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