Mulligan vs Maitland With Home-Based Exercise for Non-Specific Neck Pain

International Hellenic University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Neck Pain

Treatments: Other: Mulligan+TE; Other: Maitland+TE; Other: Control

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT06858124

EC-5/2025

Details and patient eligibility

About

Non-specific neck pain (NSNP) is a prevalent musculoskeletal condition with multiple contributing factors. The aim of this clinical study is to investigate the short-term effects of Mulligan in comparison to Maitland mobilization techniques in conjunction with a home-based therapeutic exercise program. 43 adults with non-specific neck pain will be randomly divided into three groups of 14,14 and 15 participants each. In the participants of the first group, a therapeutic protocol of Mulligan mobilizations in the cervical region will be applied and a protocol of exercises will be performed. To the participants of the second group, a therapeutic protocol od Maitland mobilizations in the cervical region will be applied and the same exercise program with the first group will be performed. The third group participants will perform only the same exercise protocol as the other groups. The first two groups will receive four mobilization treatments over two weeks. All three groups will perform the home-based exercise protocol daily for two weeks. Pain in the last 24 hours with the Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS), Pressure Pain Threshold (PPT) in the cervical region with an algometer, functional ability with the Neck Disability Index (NDI), Range of Motion (ROM) with a digital goniometer, pain catastrophizing with the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) and kinesiophobia with the Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia (TSK) will be evaluated before and after the intervention. For the statistical analysis of the results, a two-way repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) will be applied using SPSS program, while the statistical significance index will be set at p < .05.

Full description

Background: Non-specific neck pain (NSNP) is a prevalent musculoskeletal condition with multiple contributing factors. Various manual therapy approaches, such as Mulligan and Maitland mobilizations, are commonly applied to alleviate pain and enhance function.

Aim: The purpose of this clinical study is to investigate the short-term effects of Mulligan in comparison to Maitland mobilization techniques in conjunction with a home-based therapeutic exercise (TE) program.

Method: 43 participants with non-specific neck pain will be randomly assigned to three groups of 14, 14 and 15 participants each. In the participants of the first group, a therapeutic protocol of mulligan mobilizations will be applied to the cervical region. In addition, the participants will perform a home-based therapeutic exercise program. To the participants of the second group, a therapeutic protocol of maitland mobilizations will be applied to the cervical region and they will perform the same home-based exercise protocol with the first group. The third group participants will perform only the same home-based exercise protocol with the other groups. The first two groups will receive four mobilization treatments over two weeks. All three groups will perform the home-based exercise protocol daily for two weeks. Pain in the last 24 hours with the Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS), Pressure Pain Threshold (PPT) in the cervical region with an algometer, functional ability with the Neck Disability Index (NDI), Range of Motion (ROM) with a digital goniometer, pain catastrophizing with the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) and kinesiophobia with the Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia (TSK) will be evaluated before and after the intervention. For the statistical analysis of the results, a two-way repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) will be applied using SPSS program, while the statistical significance index will be set at p < .05. Expected results: The protocol proposed in this clinical study combines the benefits of applying manual therapy mobilizations with the beneficial effects of therapeutic exercise. Previous research shows Mulligan mobilizations may be slightly more beneficial in improving patients' symptoms with non-specific neck pain. For this reason, we expect that the combination of Mulligan mobilizations and home-based therapeutic exercise will be more effective than the combination of Maitland mobilizations and home-based therapeutic exercise only in improving the clinical symptoms of young adults with non-specific neck pain.

Enrollment: 43 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 60 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Acute-subacute-chronic neck pain
• Women - Men
• Age range between 18 and 30 years
• NPRS score >2
• Written consent to participate in the study

Exclusion criteria

• • Previous cervical/thoracic surgery

  • Recent whiplash (≤6 months)
  • Upper cervical pathology
  • Osteoporosis
  • Pregnancy
  • Cancer
  • Systemic diseases or spinal disorders
  • Neurological symptoms
  • Severe medical conditions, positive red flags (Spurling test, Hoffmann's sign, Babinski reflex, clonus)

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: N/A

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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43 participants in 3 patient groups

Mulligan+TE

Experimental group

Description:

Participants allocated to this group will receive four sessions of Mulligan mobilizations and will perform a home-based therapeutic exercise program for two weeks.

Treatment:

Other: Mulligan+TE

Maitland +TE

Experimental group

Description:

Participants allocated to this group will receive four sessions of Maitland mobilizations and will perform a home-based therapeutic exercise program for two weeks.

Treatment:

Other: Maitland+TE

Active Comparator: "TE group".

Active Comparator group

Description:

Participants in this group will only perform the same 4 home-based therapeutic exercises as the first group.