Effects of movement impairment based treatment in the management of mechanical neck pain

Background: Neck pain is a common musculoskeletal complaint in computer users due to prolonged static or awkward work postures. It has been shown that pathogenesis of neck pain is associated with scapular movement impairment syndromes. However, there is a dearth of literature in treatment based on these syndromes. Aim: To identify the effects of movement impairment-based treatment in the management of mechanical neck pain, in computer users. Methods: In the present study, twenty-seven subjects were recruited. Based on the identified scapular impairment syndrome, they were trained with scapular movement impairment-based exercises for four weeks. Pain, disability and cervical range of motion were measured with numeric pain rating scale, neck disability index and inclinometer, respectively, at baseline and at four weeks. Results: Twenty-one subjects completed the study. After four weeks, a significant difference of 4.81 points for numeric pain rating scale and 24.47% for neck disability index at 95% CI were found. The cervical range of motion showed a significant change (p < 0.05) of 10.09° for flexion, 24.47° for extension, 7.42° for right lateral flexion, 6.23° for left lateral flexion, 15.52° for right rotation and 14.95° for left rotation at 95% CI. Conclusions: Exercises based on scapular impairment syndromes were given for four weeks. It was found to be effective in relieving pain and reducing dysfunction in computer users with mechanical neck pain