Effects of Thoracic Spine and Cervical Spine Mobilization on Pain, Functional Disability, and Quality of Life in Patients With Mechanical Neck Pain.

NCT07723001 | Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: UBAS/ERB/26/04/021
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 66
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Mechanical neck pain (MNP) is characterized as neck discomfort mostly originating from musculoskeletal components such as cervical facet joints, intervertebral discs, ligaments, and musculature, in the absence of indications of nerve root compression or severe pathological conditions. Although recent evidence supports the use of both cervical and thoracic mobilization for mechanical neck pain, there remains limited comparative research examining their combined or relative effects on pain, functional disability, and quality of life. A total of 66 Participants with mechanical neck pain (\> 4 weeks) will be randomly allocated into two groups: Group A (Cervical spine Maitland mobilization group) will receive cervical spine Maitland mobilization throughout the 8-week intervention period, with sessions conducted twice weekly from pre-treatment to post-treatment assessment, Each session will be lasted approximately 30 minutes, consisting of manual therapy followed by standardized therapeutic exercises, supervised exercises will be performed for approximately 15 minutes. Additionally, participants in both groups will be prescribed a daily home exercise program lasting 10-15 minutes. Group B (Thoracic Plus Cervical Spine Maitland Mobilization) will receive combined thoracic and cervical spine Maitland mobilization, Thoracic mobilization will be applied to the upper thoracic segments (T1-T4) using central PA Technique. Grades III and IV mobilizations for thoracic stiffness and restore extension mobility, while lower grades will be applied in cases of increased pain sensitivity. Thoracic mobilization will be delivered for approximately 6-8 minutes, after that cervical mobilization with same protocol of supervised exercise and home pan for mechanical neck pain will be used. Each treatment session will be lasted approximately 30 minutes. Outcome measures will include: Pain intensity assessed using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) Functional disability will be evaluated using the Neck Disability Index (NDI), Health-related quality of life will be measured using the Short Form-36 (SF-36). The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the effects of cervical spine mobilization and thoracic spine mobilization on pain intensity, functional disability, and quality of life in patients with mechanical neck pain.

Conditions

Mechanical Neck Pain

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Numeric Pain Rating Scale, Neck Disability Index, Short Form-36 (SF-36)

  Outcome assessment will be conducted at baseline (pre-treatment), at 4 weeks (mid-intervention), and at 8 weeks (post-intervention). Pain intensity will be measured using the Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS), functional disability using the Neck Disability Index (NDI), and quality of life using the Short Form-36 (SF-36). Data will be analyzed using appropriate statistical tests to compare within-group and between-group differences.

  Baseline, 4 weeks, and 8 weeks

Study Arms (2)

Cervical Spine Maitland Mobilization

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants in this group will receive cervical spine Maitland mobilization along with standardized physiotherapy care, including patient education on posture, ergonomics, and a structured home exercise program. The intervention will be conducted for 8 weeks, with 2 sessions per week, each lasting approximately 30 minutes. Cervical mobilization will be applied to symptomatic segments (C2-C7) using graded oscillatory techniques to reduce pain and improve cervical mobility

Other: Cervical Spine Maitland Mobilization

Thoracic plus Cervical Spine Maitland Mobilization

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Participants in this group will receive combined thoracic and cervical spine Maitland mobilization along with standardized physiotherapy care, including posture education and a structured home exercise program. The intervention will be conducted for 8 weeks, with 2 sessions per week, each lasting approximately 30 minutes. Thoracic mobilization will be applied to improve thoracic mobility, followed by cervical mobilization to reduce pain and enhance function.

Other: Thoracic plus Cervical Spine Maitland Mobilization

Interventions

Thoracic plus Cervical Spine Maitland Mobilization OTHER

Participants in this group will receive combined thoracic and cervical spine Maitland mobilization in addition to standard physiotherapy care. The program will be conducted for 8 weeks, with 2 sessions per week, each session lasting approximately 30 minutes. Thoracic mobilization will be applied to upper thoracic segments (T1-T4) using central posterior-to-anterior oscillatory techniques, primarily Grades III and IV to improve extension mobility. This will be followed by cervical spine mobilization using the same protocol as Group A. Thoracic mobilization will be performed for approximately 6-8 minutes, followed by cervical mobilization for 8-10 minutes. The combined approach aims to reduce cervical mechanical stress through regional interdependence, improve mobility, and enhance pain relief and functional outcomes.

Thoracic plus Cervical Spine Maitland Mobilization

Cervical Spine Maitland Mobilization OTHER

Participants in this group will receive cervical spine Maitland mobilization in addition to standard physiotherapy care. The program will be delivered for 8 weeks, with 2 sessions per week, each session lasting approximately 30 minutes. Mobilization will be performed according to the Maitland concept, with Grades I and II techniques applied for pain modulation and Grades III and IV for improving joint mobility, depending on patient tolerance. Each targeted cervical segment (C2-C7) will receive 3 sets of oscillations lasting 30-60 seconds, with short rest intervals between sets. The intervention aims to restore segmental mobility, reduce pain, and improve functional outcomes.

Cervical Spine Maitland Mobilization

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 20 Years - 40 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Participants of both genders aged between 20 and 40 years with a clinical diagnosis of mechanical neck pain will be included in the study. Eligible participants must have a history of neck pain lasting more than 4 weeks (subacute to chronic) and demonstrate mild to moderate functional disability, defined by a Neck Disability Index (NDI) score between 10% and 50%.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Lahore University of Biological and Applied Sciences: lead

Study Sites (1)

Lahore University of Biological & Applied Sciences (UBAS)

Lahore, Punjab Province, 53400, Pakistan

RECRUITING

Study Officials

• Shoaib Waqas

  Lahore University of Biological and Applied Sciences

  STUDY CHAIR

Central Study Contacts

Dr.Tariq Shafi, MSPT

CONTACT

+923454190056; muhammad.tariq@ubas.edu.pk

Ahmad Arshad, MSPT

CONTACT

+923018822967; Mianahmadarshad3@gmail.com

Study Design

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

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: July 20, 2026
• First Posted: July 23, 2026
• Study Start: May 1, 2026
• Primary Completion: July 30, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): September 15, 2026
• Last Updated: July 23, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-07

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP, ICF, CSR
• Time Frame: Start Date: De-identified individual participant data (IPD) along with supporting materials will be made available following publication of the main trial findings, anticipated around 12 months after the study concludes. End Date: The data will be accessible for a period of 5 years from the commencement date to eligible researchers who provide a formal application and consent to the data use agreement.
• Access Criteria: De-identified individual participant data (IPD) along with supporting documents will be available to qualified researchers for academic and non-commercial use only. To access the data, researchers must submit a written application detailing their study objectives and proposed use of the dataset. All requests will be assessed by the principal investigator Irsa and the institutional ethics committee to ensure ethical compliance and protection of participant privacy. Data Available: The shared dataset will include anonymized participant information, such as age and sex.

Locations

PA (1)