Indian Journal of Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy - An International Journal

Study Design: Pre test Post test Study Design

Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of Muscle energy technique combined with Deep neck flexors exercise in reducing pain, disability and correcting Forward head posture in patients with chronic neck pain.

Background: Previous trials have investigated the effect of MET on pain, disability in low back pain and Range of Motion in Cervical region. No clinical trial examining the effect of this treatment on pain, disability and Forward head posture in patients with chronic neck pain has been reported in the literature.

Method: 30 patients having chronic neck pain were assigned to one of two groups. The group A received MET combined with deep neck flexors exercises while group B received deep neck flexors exercises alone. Both groups received the selected treatment over a 4 week period. All outcome measures were evaluated at baseline, day 14 and day 28.

Results: The results revealed a significant difference between group A and B at the end of the study depicting that Muscle Energy Technique combined with Deep neck flexors exercise was more effective than Deep neck flexors exercise alone in improving pain, decreasing disability and correcting forward head posture.

Conclusion: The research hypothesis which states that there will be more reduction in pain, disability and forward head posture in subjects treated with MET and Deep neck flexors exercises than Deep neck flexors alone in patients with chronic neck pain has been accepted.