COMPARATIVE STUDY BETWEEN NEURAL TISSUE MOBILIZATION AND MANUAL CERVICAL TRACTION COMBINED WITH STRENGTHENING EXERCISE ON FUNCTIONAL DISABILITY IN CERVICAL RADICULOPATHY

Abstract

Background: Cervical radiculopathy frequently causes patients to experience measurable functional
disability limiting a patients ability to perform activities of daily living well beyond the resolution of pain
alone. The effectiveness of a neurodynamic rehabilitation approach vs. a traction-based approach, combined
with identical strengthening programmes, for greater functional recovery has not been well established.
Objective: i) To evaluate the effect of manual cervical traction combined with a specific strengthening
programme on functional disability in cervical radiculopathy ; ii) To evaluate the effect of neural tissue
mobilization combined with the same strengthening programme on functional disability; iii) To compare the
two intervention for their effect on disability reduction at six weeks.
Methods: Sixty patients with cervical radiculopathy confirmed by MRI were randomly divided into two
groups. Group A (n=30) patients who received manual cervical traction along with strengthening exercise,
and Group B (n= 30 ) patients who received neural tissue mobilization with the same strengthening exercise
five days/week for six weeks. The Neck Disability Index (NDI) was used to assess functional disability at
baseline and 6 weeks.
Results: Both groups showed statistically significant within group reduction in NDI score (p < 0.05)
.Group A improved from 43.97±2.28 to 37.13±1.95, and Group B improved from 43.97±2.28 to 31.73±1.90.
At six weeks the mean difference between groups was 5.40 points in favour of Group B(t=3.62, df=58,
p=0.005)
Conclusion: Neural tissue mobilization combined with strengthening exercise produced significantly
greater improvement in neck-related functional disability than manual cervical traction with strengthening
exercise, but both approaches were clinically effective.