Upper Cervical Mobilization vs. Sub-Occipital MET for Neck Pain and FHP

NCT07164963 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: PT.BU.EC.22
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 45
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

forty-five patients with MNP and FHP age from 25-40 years will be randomly assigned into three groups: Group A (study): 15patients will receive (upper cervical translatoric mobilization) and traditional physical therapy, Group B (study): 15patients received sub occipital muscle energy technique and traditional physical therapy, and Group C (control): 15 patients will receive the traditional physical therapy treatment only . Interventions will be conducted three times a week for four weeks. Craniovertebral angle (CVA) using Photographic Posture Analysis Method (surgimap software), pain intensity using viual analogue scale (VAS), Cervical ROM using CROM device, and neck functional ability using Neck Disability Index (NDI) will be assessed for all participants before and after the treatment program.

Conditions

Mechanical Neck Pain; Forward Head Posture

Keywords

Mechanical Neck Pain; Forward Head Posture; Upper Cervical Mobilization; Muscle Energy Technique; Craniovertebral Angle; Neck Disability Index

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Visual Analog Scale (VAS) for Pain Intensity

  Pain intensity will be assessed using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), a 10-cm line where 0 = "no pain" and 10 = "worst pain imaginable". A lower score indicates improvement.

  Baseline and after 4 weeks of treatment

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Visual Analog Scale (VAS) for Pain Intensity

  Baseline and after 4 weeks of treatment

• Craniovertebral Angle (CVA) via Photographic Posture Analysis

  baseline and after 4 weeks

Study Arms (3)

Upper Cervical Translatoric Mobilization

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants will receive Upper Cervical Translatoric Mobilization (UC-TSM) applied to the upper cervical spine (C0-C2), in addition to conventional physical therapy (hot pack and Kendall exercises), three times per week for 4 weeks.

Other: upper cervical translatoric mobilisation

Sub-Occipital Muscle Energy Technique

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants will receive Sub-Occipital Muscle Energy Technique (MET) targeting the sub-occipital muscles, in addition to conventional physical therapy (hot pack and Kendall exercises), three times per week for 4 weeks.

Other: sub occipital muscle energy technique

traditional physical therapy

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Participants will receive conventional physical therapy only, including application of a hot pack for 15 minutes followed by Kendall exercises for postural correction, three times per week for 4 weeks.

Other: traditional physical therapy

Interventions

upper cervical translatoric mobilisation OTHER

(UC-TSM) is defined as a system of manual techniques using straight-line forces delivered in a parallel or perpendicular direction to an individual vertebral joint or motion segment there is also increasing in body of evidence supporting the its clinical effectiveness and safety in the management of patients with cervical impairments.

Upper Cervical Translatoric Mobilization

traditional physical therapy OTHER

hot pack and kendel exercise

traditional physical therapy

sub occipital muscle energy technique OTHER

Muscle Energy Technique (MET) is another form of a gentle manual therapy intervention that primarily targets the soft tissues, though it also contributes significantly to joint mobilization. It has been reported that, adding MET to exercise program resulted in better improvement in CVA and FHP than exercise group only

Sub-Occipital Muscle Energy Technique

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 20 Years - 60 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• patients aged from 20-60 Years
• suffering from M echanical neck pain with Craniovertebral angle ; \< 53
• their NDI ranging from 30-48% \[9\]. Patients were excluded from the study if they have injury or trauma to cervical region, spinal surgery, cervical canal stenosis, radicular pain and malignancy.

You may not qualify if:

• Patients were excluded from the study if they have injury or trauma to cervical region, spinal surgery, cervical canal stenosis, radicular pain and malignancy.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• MTI University: lead

Study Sites (1)

Faculty of Physical Therapy, Benha University

Cairo, Benha, Egypt

Location

Study Officials

• reda K. Abdelrazik, associate professor

  Benha University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

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: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Associate Professor, Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Physical Therapy, Benha University

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: August 31, 2025
• First Posted: September 10, 2025
• Study Start: September 12, 2025
• Primary Completion: October 15, 2025
• Study Completion: December 1, 2025
• Last Updated: January 5, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-01

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

EG (1)