Immediate effects of myofascial release with muscle energy technique on subjects with nonspecific mechanical neck pain: A one-arm pre–post experimental study

Abstract: BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Neck pain is the most common musculoskeletal disorder nowadays, and myofascial pain syndrome is one of the most common presentations of neck pain. Recent studies have focused on the development of intensive physical rehabilitation techniques to treat myofascial pain syndrome. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the immediate effects of muscle energy technique (MET), myofascial trigger point (MTrP) release, and ischemic compression on pain intensity, pressure pain threshold (PPT), cervical range of motion (ROM) and functional status of subjects with upper trapezius MTrPs. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: One arm, pre–post, experimental study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this one-arm pre–post experimental study, 30 participants, both male and female participants with nonspecific neck pain who were diagnosed with active trigger points (MTrps), aged 18 years and above, were included in the study. Baseline assessment for pain intensity by numerical pain rating scale (NPRS), PPT by pressure algometer (PPT), cervical range of motion by universal goniometer (ROM), and functional status by neck disability index (NDI) were evaluated. The participants received one session of treatment for an average duration of 30 min, which comprise myofascial release, ischemic compression and MET technique. Postintervention data for NPRS, PPT, and cervical ROM were assessed on the same day, and the self-reported NDI was taken on the next day. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for the analysis of data. Paired t -test was used to analyze pre–post treatment effect. RESULTS: A paired t -test was conducted to examine the mean difference between the pre–post measurements for outcomes; NPRS (mean difference 0.40, p < 0.01), algometer (mean difference 0.63, p < 0.01), and cervical lateral flexion ROM (mean difference 1.80°, p < 0.01) showed significant changes in favor of the postintervention, but there was no significant change in the NDI score (mean difference 0.13, p < 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: The study concluded that the immediate effects of MTrP release, ischemic compression, and MET were useful in decreasing pressure pain-threshold and also helpful in increasing the cervical lateral flexion.