Comparative effects of active release technique versus muscle energy technique for treating trigger point induced mechanical neck pain in young adult female population

Background: Mechanical Neck Pain is pain exacerbated by cervical spine position and its supporting structures or movements sustained by neck posture, neck movements and pain on palpation of cervical musculature. Active Release Techniques focus on relieving tension by breaking adhesions and scar tissues. Muscle Energy Techniques treat somatic dysfunction by voluntary contraction of the patient’s muscle in a precisely controlled direction to lengthen, strengthen and improve the range of motion. Methods: Quasi-experimental pretest-post-test research was conducted with a sample size of 44 young female participants (age range = 25–44). Active trigger point-induced mechanical neck pain was included using the purposive sampling technique. Neck Disability Index, Goniometer, and Numeric Pain Rating Scale were used to assess pain, cervical ranges, and functional disability among participants, respectively. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 26, in which a dependent t-test and an independent t-test were used to determine the differences within and across the group. Results: The within-group analyses showed significant improvement (P<0.05) in all outcome measures at day 0 and 14 post-treatment. The effects of Muscle Energy Techniques and Active Release Techniques on the participants of each group with active TrPs in their upper trapezius muscle and levator scapulae were increased active range of cervical lateral flexion, increased cervical rotation, increased extension, decreased pain intensity on Numeric Pain Rating Scale and increased functional status on Neck Disability Index. Conclusion: Active Release Techniques were more effective for reducing neck pain, whereas Muscle Energy Techniques were more effective for improving neck disability, and they were equally effective in increasing cervical rotation, lateral flexion and extension in patients with mechanical neck pain.