Abstract
M.Tech. (Chiropractic)
Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare the effects of muscle energy technique (MET) to chiropractic manipulations and a combination thereof with regards to pain, disability and range of motion of the cervical spine in the treatment of upper trapezius myofascial and associated neck pain. This was done by comparing MET, chiropractic manipulation and combination treatment groups. Short term and long term effects were measured to determine an appropriate treatment protocol for upper trapezius and associated neck pain.
Method: Forty five (45) participants, between the ages of 18 and 55, with non-specific neck and muscle pain were invited to participate in the study. Once the cervical spine examination was performed and all the inclusion criteria were met with none of the exclusion criteria present, they were included in the study and randomly allocated into 3 groups. Group A received a chiropractic manipulation to the cervical spine, Group B received MET to the upper trapezius muscle and Group C received a combination treatment. Each participant was treated a total of six times over a two week period. The seventh visit served the purpose of obtaining the final measurements. The data was always collected before the treatment was administered. The objective data consisted of measuring the range of motion of the cervical spine with a CROM instrument as well as measuring the pain pressure threshold with a pressure algometer. The subjective data was collected using the Vernon-Mior neck pain and disability index. The objective data was gathered on the first, fourth and seventh visits and the subjective data on the first and seventh visits.
Results: The results were interpreted by STATKON at the University of Johannesburg. All three groups improved significantly in the subjective and objective measurements over the two week trial period with regards to pain, disability and cervical range of motion. This indicated that all three treatment interventions were effective in the treatment of upper trapezius myofascial pain. These results also indicated that Group C (combination treatment of MET and chiropractic manipulation) was statistically superior to Group A (chiropractic manipulation) and Group B (MET) when cervical range of motion was considered as a whole. There was no statistical superiority between the three treatment groups with regards to pain pressure threshold values obtained, even though Group B reported a greater improvement over time. With regards to the subjective measurements, all three groups were equally effective in reducing the patient’s perceived pain and disability.
Conclusion: The results of this study show that chiropractic manipulation, MET and a combination of chiropractic manipulation and MET are effective treatments in reducing pain and disability and have the ability to restore proper mechanical function by increasing cervical spine range of motion. There was no treatment protocol that was proven to be more effective than the other. Since a combination treatment of...