Muscle Energy Technique in the Rehabilitative Treatment for Acute and Chronic Non-Specific Neck Pain: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Background: Non-specific neck pain (NNP) affects 30–50% of the general population, and it often leads to severe disability. Several manual therapy techniques are available to reduce pain and disability and to improve cervical range of motion and functional activities. Muscle Energy Technique (MET) showed more evidence for treating such a disorder. The aim of this current scientific literature analysis was to compare the clinical effects of MET with the other manual or rehabilitative treatments for non-specific acute and chronic neck pain. Methods: The literature search was conducted using the following databases: PubMed, Medline, PEDro, Cochrane Database, and Google Scholar from 2010 to January 2020. Clinical trials about MET were included. The quality of the trials was assessed according to the PEDro scale. Results: Twenty-one papers according to inclusion and exclusion criteria were selected: 15 studies about non-specific acute neck pain and 6 studies about non-specific chronic neck pain. Conclusions: This analysis suggests that the MET approach has a good clinical effect on reducing neck pain in patients with acute neck pain and improves cervical range of motion in patients with chronic neck pain, and is better if combined with a traditional rehabilitative approach. This review’s findings should be considered with caution for physiotherapy practice because of the studies’ methodologic limitations. On the basis of the current available and limited evidence, clinicians could combine MET with traditional physiotherapy and other manual techniques when treating people with non-specific neck pain.

Vertebral Related Diseases in Healthcare: The Role of Pain Management and Rehabilitation

“…In fact, several manual therapy approaches are accessible to decrease pain and disability and to recover cervical range of motion and spinal health. Muscle Energy Technique (MET) appears to show little evidence of decreasing neck pain by improving cervical range of motion in chronic disorders, even when combined with a traditional rehabilitation approach [ 35 ]. In the elderly, given that VFF are the typical form of osteoporotic fractures, a proper management is mandatory in terms of pharmacological treatment and also of appropriate prescription of spinal orthoses in both acute and chronic VFF phase [ 36 ].…”

Effects of different methods of physiotherapy in individuals with cervicogenic headaches

“…M. Paoloni ir kt. (2021) teigia, kad postizometrinės relaksacijos taikymas kartu su kineziterapija suteikia atpalaiduojamąjį poveikį spazmuojantiems raumenims, padidėja sumažėjusi kaklo judesių amplitudė [9]. R. Saggini ir kt.…”

Effect of post-isometric relaxation versus myofascial release therapy on pain, functional disability, rom and qol in the management of non-specific neck pain: a randomized controlled trial

“…Overall, there is a lack of high-quality evidence investigating the effectiveness and safety of MET to guide its use in the clinical management of NSNP. However, the high risk of bias and methodological shortcomings require caution in interpreting these results [ 22 ]. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate the effect of post isometric relaxation versus myofascial release therapy on pain, functional disability, ROM, and QoL in the management of NSNP.…”