Effect of Core Stabilization Exercises on Patients With Cervical Radiculopathy

NCT07365917 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: P.T.REC/012/006086
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 40
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate the effect of core stabilization exercise on functional outcome and craniovertebral angle which is the angle of forward head , in adults with cervical radiculopathy. The main questions it aims to answer are:

• Is there a significant effect of core stabilization exercises (CSEs) on craniovertebral angle (CVA) in patients with cervical radiculopathy?
• Is there a significant effect of core stabilization exercises (CSEs) on functional outcome in patients with cervical radiculopathy? Researchers will compare effect of adding core stabilization exercises to conventional physical therapy program (TENS, hot pack, US, manual therapy and strengthening exercises) Vs conventional physical therapy program alone to see if there is a beneficial effect of adding core stabilization exercises to physical therapy program Participants in study group will perform core stabilization exercises in addition to conventional PT program while participants in control group will receive conventional PT program

Conditions

Cervical Radiculopathy

Keywords

Core stabilization exercises; craniovertebral angle

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Craniovertebral Angle

  Craniovertebral angle ( CVA ) will be measured through lateral photography of patients. Before capturing the picture, Plastic markers will be placed on C7 vertebra and on tragus of ear. Then the picture will be uploaded to kinovea software to measure CVA by measuring the angle between a line connecting two plastic markers and the horizontal. Values more than 49 degrees are considered abnormal indicating forward head posture while values lower than 49 degrees indicate normal head position

  from enrollment to the end of treatment at 4 weeks

• Arabic Version of Neck Disability Index (NDI)

  Functional outcome will be assessed though Arabic Version of Neck Disability Index (NDI) which is a 10-item self-reported questionnaire. It measures the influence of neck pain on functioning and disability. The patient will be informed that this questionnaire had been designed to give us how your pain had affected your ability to function in daily life. Personal care, lifting, reading, work, driving, sleeping, recreational activities, pain intensity, concentration, and headache are examples of these questions. Each question is assessed on a six-point scale ranging from 0 (no disability) to 5 (major disability). The score will be calculated by adding the scores of each item together. The overall score is out of 50. The results can be expressed as a percentage by multiplying the score by two. The higher NDI score, the greater patient's perceived disability due to neck pain. The Arabic version of NDI is a strong valid method for assessing self-rated disability in patients with neck pain

  from enrollment to the end of treatment at 4 weeks

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Neck Pain

  from enrollment to the end of treatment at 4 weeks

• Cervical Proprioception

  from enrollment to the end of treatment at 4 weeks

Study Arms (2)

control group

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Other: conventional physical therapy program

study group

EXPERIMENTAL

Other: Core stabilization exercises; Other: conventional physical therapy program

Interventions

Core stabilization exercises OTHER

participants in study group will receive 30 mins and 3 sessions per week for 4 weeks

study group

conventional physical therapy program OTHER

conventional physical therapy program will include TENS, hot pack, US, manual therapy and strengthening exercises

control group; study group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 35 Years - 50 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Patients with Posterolateral cervical disc proplapse at level of C5-C6 and C6-C7 levels
• Neck Disability Index (NDI) score exceeding 20%.
• Neck pain of mild to moderate intensity (VAS ≥ 3).
• Their symptoms lasting for a duration exceeding six weeks
• Three out of four elements are positive in the following tests: spurling test, distraction test, upper limb tension test, shoulder abduction test.
• Body mass index should not exceed 30 kg/m².
• Patients complaining from neck pain and unilateral radicular pain, parathesia, motor manifestations or hyporeflexia
• Their age will range from 35 to 50 years.
• Their craniovertebral angle is less than 49 degrees.
• Their mean of cervical joint position error is larger than 4.5 degrees.

You may not qualify if:

• Cervical mylopathy or spinal tumors
• History of cervical spine surgeries
• Cervical fractures
• Vertebrobasilar insufficiency (VBI)
• Bone Infection

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Cairo University: lead

Study Sites (1)

Faculty of Physical Therapy Cairo University

Giza, Egypt

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Radiculopathy

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Peripheral Nervous System Diseases; Neuromuscular Diseases; Nervous System Diseases

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Demonstrator

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: January 13, 2026
• First Posted: January 26, 2026
• Study Start: September 3, 2025
• Primary Completion: March 3, 2026
• Study Completion: March 3, 2026
• Last Updated: May 1, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-04

Locations

EG (1)