EFFECTIVENESS OF SNAGS AND ACTIVE RELEASE THERAPY AMONG PATIENTS WITH NECK PAIN

Background: Neck pain is one of the most prevalent musculoskeletal disorders worldwide, contributing to disability, reduced quality of life, and significant economic burden. Manual therapy approaches, such as Sustained Natural Apophyseal Glides (SNAGs) and Active Release Therapy (ART), are widely employed in physiotherapy practice. While both techniques have demonstrated effectiveness, limited evidence directly compares their outcomes on pain, disability, and cervical range of motion, necessitating further investigation into their relative clinical utility. Objective: To compare the effectiveness of SNAGs and ART in reducing pain intensity, improving cervical range of motion, and reducing functional disability in patients with mechanical neck pain. Methods: A randomized clinical trial was conducted on 22 patients with mechanical neck pain who were randomly allocated into two groups through a simple lottery method. Group A (n = 11) received SNAGs, while Group B (n = 11) received ART. Both groups were additionally provided with baseline conventional therapy including hot packs and Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS). Each intervention was administered for 15–30 minutes, three sessions per week, over a period of three weeks. Outcomes were assessed using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for pain and the Neck Disability Index (NDI) for disability. Data were analyzed using parametric and non-parametric tests, with significance set at p < 0.05. Results: Baseline VAS scores were 6.30±0.95 in Group A and 7.00±1.55 in Group B, with no significant difference (p = 0.096). Post-treatment VAS decreased to 3.60±1.65 in Group A and 3.91±1.04 in Group B, showing significant within-group improvements (p = 0.001 and p = 0.003, respectively) but no between-group difference (p = 0.636). NDI scores improved significantly within both groups (p = 0.005 for SNAGs; p = 0.003 for ART), though intergroup differences remained non-significant (p = 0.594). Cervical flexion, extension, and rotation improved significantly in both groups, while side-bending showed greater improvement in the ART group (p = 0.042). Conclusion: Both SNAGs and ART were equally effective in reducing pain, improving cervical mobility, and decreasing disability in patients with mechanical neck pain. These findings support the inclusion of either technique as a safe and effective treatment option within multimodal physiotherapy practice.