Effects of Cervical Spine Manipulation in Patients With Mechanical Neck Pain

Overview

Mechanical neck pain is known as one of the most common disorders in musculoskeletal system. In elderly population, prevalence of neck pain ranges up to 38% while point prevalence and lifetime prevalence ranges from 6% to 22% and 14.2% to 71% respectively . Neck pain is defined by the international association for the study of pain as: "Pain perceived as arising from anywhere within the region bounded superiorly by superior nuchal line, inferior by transverse line through the tip of first thoracic spinous process, and laterally by sagittal plane tangential to the lateral border of neck" . There are variable causes of neck pain like trauma, infections, inflammatory conditions, musculoskeletal conditions, rheumatic diseases, and congenital diseases . There are varying degrees of disability and activity limitation caused by neck pain, like work productivity reduction and decrease quality of life . People who have a sedentary lifestyle, poor occupational postures, students with poor posture, people involved in occupation like computer programming, clerical job workers and desk job works are more likely to suffer from mechanical neck pain . Most common cause of mechanical neck pain is muscle tightness, Upper trapezius and levator scapulae are the most involved muscles

Neck pain can over time negatively affect the central processing of any afferent input received because it can create a disturbance in the proprioceptive input to the Central Nervous System. Vuillerme stated that cervical muscle proprioceptors are stimulated by painful electrical stimuli. Therefore, joint proprioception can be affected in patients with mechanical neck pain . The conservative management of mechanical neck pain includes many treatment options like electrotherapy which includes moist heat, Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation therapy and different manual therapy options like cervical and thoracic mobilization and manipulation, Natural Apophyseal Glides and Sustained Natural Apophyseal Glides, Cyriax technique, manual pressure release, ischemic compression and proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation. Postural reeducation and strength training of weak muscle group has beneficial effects. Joint mobilization and manipulation are widely used as a treatment for mechanical neck pain, as cervical mobilizations which are low velocity passive oscillatory movements are used by 90% of physiotherapist and chiropractors to treat people with neck pain.