Document Type : Original Articles
Authors
Physical Therapy Department, School of Rehabilitation, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
Background:
Neck pain is a common musculoskeletal issue associated with proprioceptive abnormalities and limited neck movement. This study assessed the immediate effects of Mulligan's mobilization, with and without Kinesio taping, and conventional physiotherapy on pain intensity, range of motion (RoM), and proprioception in patients with non-specific chronic neck pain.
Methods:
This pilot randomized controlled trial involved 24 patients (9 men, 15 women, and aged 20-55 years) with non-specific chronic neck pain. They were randomly allocated to two groups: the experimental group received conventional physiotherapy, Mulligan's mobilization, and Kinesio taping, while the control group received conventional physiotherapy and Mulligan's mobilization. Pain intensity, active RoM, and cervical proprioception were measured before and immediately after intervention. Paired t-tests and Wilcoxon tests were used for within-group comparisons; independent t-tests and Mann-Whitney tests for between-group comparisons.
Results:
Both groups showed significant post-treatment pain reduction (control: p=0.10; experimental: p<0.001). The experimental group exhibited significant RoM increases in flexion and left lateral flexion, while the control group improved in extension and right lateral flexion (p<0.05). In proprioception, the experimental group showed significant improvement in repositioning from left rotation to neutral (p=0.02) and to target (p=0.03); no other significant proprioceptive changes were observed (p>0.05).
Conclusion:
Pain reduction and enhancement in RoM were observed when Mulligan's mobilization was added to conventional physiotherapy and specially combined with Kinesio taping. Furthermore, the concurrent application of Mulligan's mobilization and kinesio taping demonstrated greater improvements in neck proprioception compared to the isolated use of Mulligan's mobilization.
Keywords
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