NCT06858124

Mulligan vs Maitland With Home-Based Exercise for Non-Specific Neck Pain

Comparison of Mulligan and Maitland Mobilization Techniques Combined With Home-Based Exercise for Non-Specific Neck Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 43 (actual)
• Sponsor: International Hellenic University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 60 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

Non-specific neck pain (NSNP) is a prevalent musculoskeletal condition with multiple contributing factors. The aim of this clinical study is to investigate the short-term effects of Mulligan in comparison to Maitland mobilization techniques in conjunction with a home-based therapeutic exercise program. 43 adults with non-specific neck pain will be randomly divided into three groups of 14,14 and 15 participants each. In the participants of the first group, a therapeutic protocol of Mulligan mobilizations in the cervical region will be applied and a protocol of exercises will be performed. To the participants of the second group, a therapeutic protocol od Maitland mobilizations in the cervical region will be applied and the same exercise program with the first group will be performed. The third group participants will perform only the same exercise protocol as the other groups. The first two groups will receive four mobilization treatments over two weeks. All three groups will perform the home-based exercise protocol daily for two weeks. Pain in the last 24 hours with the Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS), Pressure Pain Threshold (PPT) in the cervical region with an algometer, functional ability with the Neck Disability Index (NDI), Range of Motion (ROM) with a digital goniometer, pain catastrophizing with the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) and kinesiophobia with the Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia (TSK) will be evaluated before and after the intervention. For the statistical analysis of the results, a two-way repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) will be applied using SPSS program, while the statistical significance index will be set at p \< .05.

Detailed description

Background: Non-specific neck pain (NSNP) is a prevalent musculoskeletal condition with multiple contributing factors. Various manual therapy approaches, such as Mulligan and Maitland mobilizations, are commonly applied to alleviate pain and enhance function. Aim: The purpose of this clinical study is to investigate the short-term effects of Mulligan in comparison to Maitland mobilization techniques in conjunction with a home-based therapeutic exercise (TE) program. Method: 43 participants with non-specific neck pain will be randomly assigned to three groups of 14, 14 and 15 participants each. In the participants of the first group, a therapeutic protocol of mulligan mobilizations will be applied to the cervical region. In addition, the participants will perform a home-based therapeutic exercise program. To the participants of the second group, a therapeutic protocol of maitland mobilizations will be applied to the cervical region and they will perform the same home-based exercise protocol with the first group. The third group participants will perform only the same home-based exercise protocol with the other groups. The first two groups will receive four mobilization treatments over two weeks. All three groups will perform the home-based exercise protocol daily for two weeks. Pain in the last 24 hours with the Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS), Pressure Pain Threshold (PPT) in the cervical region with an algometer, functional ability with the Neck Disability Index (NDI), Range of Motion (ROM) with a digital goniometer, pain catastrophizing with the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) and kinesiophobia with the Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia (TSK) will be evaluated before and after the intervention. For the statistical analysis of the results, a two-way repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) will be applied using SPSS program, while the statistical significance index will be set at p \< .05. Expected results: The protocol proposed in this clinical study combines the benefits of applying manual therapy mobilizations with the beneficial effects of therapeutic exercise. Previous research shows Mulligan mobilizations may be slightly more beneficial in improving patients' symptoms with non-specific neck pain. For this reason, we expect that the combination of Mulligan mobilizations and home-based therapeutic exercise will be more effective than the combination of Maitland mobilizations and home-based therapeutic exercise only in improving the clinical symptoms of young adults with non-specific neck pain.

Conditions

• Neck Pain

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Mulligan+TE	Mulligan Mobilizations plus Home Therapeutic Exercise The protocol will last 25 minutes (Mulligan protocol: 5 minutes and Home Therapeutic Exercise protocol: 20 minutes) and will include the application of the following mulligan techniques and home exercises: * Mulligan sustained natural apophyseal glide SNAG mobilizations with overpressure with the patients in seated position. * 4 home-based therapeutic exercises: isometric exercises for cervical regions, head retractions, thoracic spine rotation mobility exercise and diagonal cervical mobility exercise pattern.
OTHER	Maitland+TE	The participants of this group will perform the same 4 home-based therapeutic exercises as the first group. In addition, they will receive a 5-minute maitland mobilization protocol. Maitland mobilizations will include posterioranterior glides with oscillations with the patients in prone position.
OTHER	Control	Participants in this group will only perform the same 4 home-based therapeutic exercises as the first group.

Timeline

• Start date: 2025-02-27
• Primary completion: 2025-04-05
• Completion: 2025-04-05
• First posted: 2025-03-05
• Last updated: 2025-04-16

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Greece