Development of Standard Guidelines for Relaxation Exercises in Patients With Chronic Neck Pain and Determination of Their Effectiveness

Balikesir University

Status: Not yet enrolling

Conditions: Non Specific Chronic Neck Pain

Treatments: Other: Exercise; Other: Sham (No Treatment)

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT07048093

G.O. 2024/153

Details and patient eligibility

About

The goal of this observational study is to determine whether relaxation exercises performed before cranio-cervical flexion can reduce superficial neck muscle activation (specifically sternocleidomastoid and upper trapezius) in individuals with neck pain.

The main questions it aims to answer are:

• Does performing relaxation exercises prior to cranio-cervical flexion reduce sternocleidomastoid (SCM) muscle activation?
• Does it reduce upper trapezius muscle activation during the standing?

Researchers will compare the group performing relaxation exercises before cranio-cervical flexion to the group performing only cranio-cervical flexion to see if there is a measurable difference in superficial neck muscle activation.

Participants will:

• Perform cranio-cervical flexion exercises.
• Perform relaxation exercises prior to the cranio-cervical flexion (intervention group only).
• Undergo surface EMG measurements to assess muscle activity.

Enrollment: 34 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 22 to 65 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Knowledge of Turkish
• Chronic (at least three months) neck pain
• Neck pain level of 4 or higher on a numerical pain scale

Exclusion criteria

• Neck pain caused by a tumor, trauma, or rheumatic disease
• History of surgery involving the head, neck, shoulder, or thoracic region
• Root compression
• Regular use of painkillers due to another illness
• Another illness severe enough to interfere with work

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Double Blind

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34 participants in 2 patient groups

Relaxation Exercises Group

Experimental group

Description:

This group will do relaxation exercises based on reciprocal inhibition, autogenic inhibition, proprioceptive training and postural training.

Treatment:

Other: Exercise

Just Lie Back Group

Sham Comparator group

Description:

This group do nothing but just lie back before and after actual measurements.

Treatment:

Other: Sham (No Treatment)