The Effect of two specialized physiotherapy exercise programs for individuals experiencing neck and shoulder pain

Abstract

Introduction. Introduction: In modern society, there has been a growing number of people who spend more and more time at the computer at work or in their free time. Often, chronic neck and shoulder pain in the workplace has socio-economic effects associated with reduced ability to work and reduced quality of life (2). According to Sihawong et al., Muscle balancing and endurance exercises are recommended to reduce chronic neck and shoulder pain (3). Research aim: To evaluate and compare the outcomes of two specialized physiotherapy exercise programs for individuals, who were experiencing neck and shoulder pain. Research methods and organization. With the approval of the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences Bioethics commission (Nr. BEC-SR(M)-172) the research was performed in UAB ,,Kineziterapijos klinika” from 2020-07-01 till 2020-10-10. 24 working-age participants (15 women and 9 men, aged 23 to 52 years) took part in the research, who experienced chronic neck and shoulder area pain, rated 1 to 6 points. Patients were randomly assigned to 2 groups of research of 12 subjects each. They were given one individual session each of 60 minutes. I group - patients were treated by stretching and positional relaxation exercises program with additional imagination exercises using ,,Dynamic alignment through imagery“ by Eric Franklin; II group were treated by the use of stretching and positional relaxation exercises program with additional deep neck muscle activation method with ,,Stabilizer“. The change in result was evaluated after the research by using neck disability index to describe functional independence; by using visual analogic scale VAS to describe pain intensity; by partly using the Hoeger scale to define head, neck and shoulder posture; by using GROC scale to evaluate patient‘s health condition; by using inclinometer to describe head, neck and shoulder area‘s range of motion. Statistical analys [...]