Effectiveness of cervical mobilization and stretching exercise with or without upper thoracic mobilization on non-specific neck pain

Objective: To compare effectiveness of cervical mobilization and stretching exercise with or without upper thoracic mobilization to decrease pain, increase range of motion and decrease disability in patients with non-specific neck pain. Methodology: A convenient sample of 30 patients recruited from three major hospitals of Faisalabad was randomly divided into two treatment groups. Both groups had Hot Pack, cervical mobilization and stretching exercises while Group B additionally received upper thoracic mobilization. Duration of treatment was two weeks and three session per week. Pain intensity was measured at baseline and after each session. Neck Range of Motion (ROM) and Neck Disability Index (NDI) was measured at baseline and after 6th session. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 20. Results: There was significant reduction in pain and neck disability level (p<0.05) in both groups. Neck ROM showed statistically significant difference in neck extension, neck left rotation and neck right rotation range. But, no significant statistical difference (p>0.05) was observed in left lateral flexion, right lateral flexion and neck flexion ROM. Conclusion: Both treatment groups showed significant reduction in neck pain and disability. But Group B showed better improvement of neck extension, neck left rotation and neck right rotation than group A.