COMPARING MUSCLE ENERGY TECHNIQUE AND HOLD RELAX IN THE MANAGEMENT OF NECK PAIN AND UPPER TRAPEZIUS TIGHTNESS

OBJECTIVE To compare the efficacy of Muscle Energy Technique (MET) and Hold Relax Technique of Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF) in non-specific neck pain and upper trapezius tightness. STUDY DESIGN AND SAMPLING TECHNIQUES Experimental Study, Randomized Control Trial. STUDY SETTINGS & PARTICIPANTS Study was conducted at reputed Institute of Physical Therapy and Hospital including students, teachers, staff, and patients with a sample size of thirty participants. INTERVENTION MET and PNF hold relax technique is applied for non specific neck pain and upper trapezius spasm. OUTCOME MEASURES Using single blinded randomization, subjects were allocated into two groups A and B. In Group A hold relax of Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF) was applied to upper trapezius muscle while in group B Muscle Energy Technique (MET) was applied on the same muscle. Comparison is made for examining the effectiveness of both PNF and MET on pain scale and cervical ranges. RESULTS Improvements were seen in both groups but results of Hold Relax PNF technique is found to be more effective than MET. Major difference was reported pre and post treatment in the pain magnitude and neck range of motion. CONCLUSION The result of this study supports the application of PNF technique for relieving non-specific neck pain and upper trapezius muscle spasm.