Effects of Multimodal Therapy versus Myofascial Release Techniques in Patients with Upper Cross Syndrome

Background: Upper cross syndrome is a frequent musculoskeletal disorder, showing a characteristic pattern of muscular imbalance and dysfunction in the joints of the neck and shoulder region. It causes pain in the upper back, cervical and thoracic spine, and shoulders. It is often linked with poor posture or forward head posture, weakness in the muscular area, and changes in the movement patterns, resulting in pain, limited mobility, and dysfunction. Objective: To compare the effects of multimodal therapy versus myofascial release techniques in patients with upper cross syndrome. Methodology: This is a single-blinded controlled trial that recruited 40 participants using a convenience sampling technique was used during 10 months. Pre-diagnosed patients with upper crossed syndrome, office workers, aged between 20 to 40 years, males and females were included in the trial. Patients with recent trauma or surgery to the neck or shoulder region, cancer, infection or abscess in the neck or shoulder region, or neurological diseases were excluded. Group A was treated with multimodal therapy, while Group B was treated with multimodal therapy with a duration of 30-45 minutes, two sessions per week for six weeks. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test checked the normality of variables. Across the group Independent t-test/Wilcoxon test was used, within the group paired t-test was used to assess comparative effects. Results: The assumption of normal data distribution was verified using the Shapiro-Wilk tests, which justified the use of parametric statistical tests. Accordingly, a paired sample t-test was applied for within-group comparisons, and an independent sample t-test was used for between-group analysis. In the multimodal therapy group, the mean numeric pain rating score on day 1 was 7.86±1.14, which reduced to 2.48±1.42 after the intervention. Similarly, the neck disability index score decreased from 78.06±8.66 to 20.89±5.6, with a mean difference of 11.33 and a p-value <0.05, indicating statistical significance. Conclusion: Pain scores and the neck disability index significantly declined, but cervical range of motion scores increased throughout the study. Both interventions were effective in improving patient outcomes, but multimodal therapy is showing more significant results in reducing pain intensity, increasing neck functional ability, and cervical range of motion.