Effectiveness of Scapula Mobilization on Mechanosensitivity of Upper Limb Neural Test 1 in Mechanical Neck Pain

Overview

Between 45% and 70% of the general population suffers neck pain at some point in their lives, making it one of the most frequent reasons for taking sick leave. Given its importance in physiotherapy at clinical level, we seek to observe how a scapular mobilization technique might influence the neural mechanosensitivity of the median nerve as measured by Upper Limb Neural Test 1 (ULNT1) on subjects with neck pain. Hypotheses and objectives. Performing a scapular mobilization technique on subjects with neck pain and a positive ULNT1 improves the patient's response to said test. It also decreases the patient's neck pain as measured using a Visual Analog Scale (VAS) for pain and increases grip strength. Material and method. A single-blind clinical trial was performed on subjects randomly assigned to either a treatment group or control group. The sample consisted of 60 subjects (N = 60) -30 in the treatment group (n = 30) and the other 30 as a control (n = 30) -and was made up of patients with neck pain and a positive ULNT1. A scapular mobilization was performed on the first group and on the second, a calcaneus abduction adduction on the opposite side from the positive ULNT1 as a placebo.

Mechanical cervicalgia is a very frequent and important clinical picture in physiotherapy consultations. It can be considered as a pluripatology as it covers somatic, functional, psychological and social aspects. This ailment is suffered by between 45 and 70% of the general population during some period of life and is one of the most frequent justifications of work leave and the main cause of permanent disability. Mechanical cervicalgia significantly decreases the quality of life of those who suffer from it: it frequently produces a significant disability when generating pain, functional deficit, headaches, movement restriction, vertiginous syndromes, nausea and / or vomiting, etc. This leads to reduced work time and increased health system costs, causing a strong economic and social impact. For example, Borghouts JA and Cols point out that in the Netherlands in 1996 these costs were approximately 686 million dollars, which constituted 1% of total health expenditure and 0.1% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) . In Spain, referrals to the cervicalgia physiotherapy service represent 10% of the total of all health demands; in Britain this percentage reaches 15% and in Canada 30%. Likewise, it should be considered that the direct cost caused by cervicalgia to the health system in our country, specifically to the Primary Care consultation, constitutes 2% of the total, and in some centers this figure reaches up to 12% if they are considered diagnostic tests, pharmaceutical expenses and visits to the specialist.