Development of an Integrated Physiotherapy Treatment Protocol for Desk Job Personals: A Pilot Research

Objectives: To develop an Integrated validated Physiotherapy Treatment Protocol for Desk Job personnel along with an assessment of its effectiveness. Methods: The research was conducted utilizing a mixed-method methodology. Interviews with thirty computer professionals (having more than five years of experience) and a thorough in-depth literature research were conducted to identify various symptoms which are commonly seen among computer professionals. Search engines such as Ovid MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, Pubmed, and EBSCO CINAHL were used with terms such as Neck Problems in Computer Professionals(cs), Treatment Techniques used in Cervical Spondylitis, and Motor or Sensory issues in Computer Professionals. The treatment protocol was created with the help of identified symptoms and validated using the Delphi technique. After the protocol was developed, a randomized control trial was conducted with thirty samples in each group. A developed and validated regimen was provided to the participants. Findings: Item level CVI ranges from 0.79 to 1. The Kappa results demonstrated the protocol's strong content validity, which ranged from 0.79 to 1. In comparison to day 1, there was a decline in both groups' scores of NDI and NPRS on day 30, and there was an even more noticeable decrease on day 60. The experimental group showed a much greater reduction in neck pain and disability when compared to the control group. Novelty: The study has focussed on a new category of occupational health issues, namely computer-related health issues, for which there is no established set of Physiotherapy Protocol that can either prevent or treat the issues. Keywords: Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS), Neck Disability Index (NDI), Content Validity Ratio (CVR) and Content Validity Index (CVI), Integrated Physiotherapy Treatment Protocol (IPTP)