Exercise and Chronic Mechanical Neck Pain

NCT07026019 | Recruiting DMC

• 1 other identifier: Kiran- REC/RCR&AHS 24/0139
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 40
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This Randomized Clinical Trial will be conducted at Riphah Rehabilitation and Research Center and spans 4 weeks. Non-probability Convenient sampling will be used to collect the data. A sample size of 40 subjects with age group between 18-45 years will be taken. Data will be collected from patients who use electronic gadgets and have present complaints of mechanical neck pain. Outcome measures will be taken using the Numeric pain rating scale (NPRS) for pain, Neck Disability Index (NDI) for disability, Goniometer for Range of motion, and Kinovea software for shoulder, eye, and craniovertebral angle measurement. Subjects will be selected based on inclusion and exclusion criteria and will be equally divided into two groups by random number generator table. The first assessment will be conducted physically and after that, both groups will receive treatment via MS teams under the supervision of a physiotherapist. Both the Groups will receive Hot Pack, and baseline treatment (neck isometrics, upper trapezius and scalene stretches), while Group A will receive multimodal exercises (chin tucks, bilateral pectoral stretching, scapular region strengthening exercises, and Wand exercises) and Group B will receive Bruegger's relief exercise. Outcome measures will be measured at baseline and after 4 weeks. Data analysis will be done by SPSS version 25.

Conditions

Neck Pain Chronic

Keywords

Neck pain; Telehealth; Range of motion; Photogrammetry

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• Numerical Pain Rating Scale

  The NPRS is an 11-point numeric scale in which 0 represents "NO PAIN" and 10 represents "EXTREME PAIN" (e.g., "pain as bad as you can imagine" and "worst pain imaginable").

  Baseline, 4th Week

• Neck Disability Index

  The NDI is a self-reported instrument for measuring perceived neck disability that consists of 10 'themes': pain intensity, personal care, weight lifting, reading, headache, concentration, work (or domestic activities), driving, sleep and recreational activities. Each question is scored from 0 to 5. The final score is expressed as a percentage

  Baseline, 4th Week

• Cervical Range of Motion

  Universal Goniometer, a tool used most commonly for evaluating joint ROM in the clinical settings, comes out as a simple alternative for global use at low price. Notably, the reliability and validity of cervical goniometric measurements are considered excellent, ensuring accurate measurement of cervical range of motion

  Baseline, 4th Week

Study Arms (2)

Multimodal exercise program

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Other: Multimodal exercise program

Bruegger's Relief Exercise

EXPERIMENTAL

Other: Bruegger's relief exercise

Interventions

Bruegger's relief exercise OTHER

Participant will be in a high sitting position. An elastic resistance band will be wrapped on each hand of the participant leaving the palm open and will be told to abduct and extend of thumb along with fingers, followed by wrist extension and forearm supination, the participant will be instructed to perform scapular retraction with shoulder external rotation, elbow extension, shoulder abduction, and extension and chin tuck. The treatment protocol will be for 4 weeks, having 3 sessions in a week and 4 sets of 12 repetitions in each session. Intervention was started from 10 seconds hold to 30 seconds with 2 seconds increment in every session. Rest time was 30 seconds.

Bruegger's Relief Exercise

Multimodal exercise program OTHER

Multimodal exercise program including chin tucks, bilateral pectoral stretching, scapular region strengthening exercises and Wand exercises. The training program applied 3 times a week, 50 minutes each time, for 4 weeks

Multimodal exercise program

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 45 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Age group between 18-45 years (10).
• Both gender
• Neck pain associated with degenerative changes and myofascial pain syndromes
• Individuals having localized pain or stiffness in the cervical spine (C3-C7) without upper limb radiculopathy
• People with a disability and therefore cannot come to the clinic
• People living in highly populated cities where the healthcare system is overcrowded
• People who use electronic gadgets i.e. computers, and smartphones for more than 4 hours

You may not qualify if:

• Tuberculosis, carcinoma, heart disease, and osteoporosis
• Previous surgery related to the cervical spine
• Having radical symptoms such as paresis, tingling, or numbness
• Any trauma or localized infection in the neck region
• Having inflammatory rheumatologic diseases, or structural deformity
• Ongoing radiotherapy, chemotherapy, steroid therapy, or anticoagulants
• Positive Spurling's test, traction test, upper limb tension test, and shoulder abduction test

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Riphah International University: lead

Study Sites (1)

Riphah Rehabilitation Clinic

Lahore, Punjab Province, 54000, Pakistan

RECRUITING

Related Publications (2)

• Waongenngarm P, van der Beek AJ, Akkarakittichoke N, Janwantanakul P. Perceived musculoskeletal discomfort and its association with postural shifts during 4-h prolonged sitting in office workers. Appl Ergon. 2020 Nov;89:103225. doi: 10.1016/j.apergo.2020.103225. Epub 2020 Aug 2.

  PMID: 32755740 BACKGROUND

• Bernal-Utrera C, Gonzalez-Gerez JJ, Anarte-Lazo E, Rodriguez-Blanco C. Manual therapy versus therapeutic exercise in non-specific chronic neck pain: a randomized controlled trial. Trials. 2020 Jul 28;21(1):682. doi: 10.1186/s13063-020-04610-w.

  PMID: 32723399 BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Neck Pain

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Pain; Neurologic Manifestations; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Study Officials

• Syed Shakil ur Rehman, PhD

  Riphah International University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Syed Shakil ur Rehman, PhD

CONTACT

+92 320 786661; shakil.urrehman@riphah.edu.pk

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: DOUBLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: June 11, 2025
• First Posted: June 18, 2025
• Study Start: May 1, 2025
• Primary Completion: August 30, 2025
• Study Completion: September 30, 2025
• Last Updated: June 18, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-06

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

PA (1)