A Comparison of Myofascial Release and Positional Release in Conjunction with Static Stretching for Treatment of Upper Trapezius Trigger Points among University Students: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Introduction: Myofascial trigger points are considered to be a major cause of neck pain and shoulder muscle tenderness among the working population. Aim: To investigate the efficacy of combining Myofascial Release Therapy (MFR) and Positional Release Therapy (PRT) on pain intensity and pain tolerance for managing neck pain caused by Myofascial Trigger Points (MTrPs) of the upper trapezius muscle. Materials and Methods: A pilot study was conducted in the Department of Physiotherapy, Maharishi Markandeshwar Institute of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Maharishi Markandeshwar (Deemed to be University), Mullana, Ambala, Haryana, India on a total of 16 participants were randomly assigned to Group A (MFR) and Group B (PRT), receiving treatment 3 days a week for two weeks. Both groups also received conventional treatment (such as static stretching of the upper trapezius along with a cold pack). The Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS) and the Pain Pressure Threshold (PPT) were employed to compare the pre- and postintervention assessment of the participants. Results: As the baseline data were normally distributed, the statistical analysis used independent t-tests for between-group comparisons and paired t-tests for within-group analysis. For within-group analysis, both groups revealed highly significant improvement (p<0.05) in all the outcome measures such as (NPRS and PPT). However, upon comparing both groups, the between-group analysis showed significant improvement across all parameters (p<0.05). Conclusion: Both PRT and MFR combined with static stretching were found to be effective in reducing pain and raising the pain threshold; however, comparing patients who received MFR combined with static stretching had more significant results.