Comparative Effects of Manual Cervical Traction and Natural Apophyseal Glides on Pain and Disability among Patients with Cervical Radiculopathy

Abstract

Cervical radiculopathy is a clinical condition that affects the nerve roots and is frequently brought on by inflammatory or compressive disease. Although many alternative techniques have been proposed for reducing patients' pain and disabilities, manual therapy has been proven to be an efficient method. The goal of the current study was to compare how well the Manual Cervical Traction and Natural Apophyseal Glides treated individuals with cervical radiculopathy for pain and impairment. Methods: The physiotherapy department of Mayo Hospital Lahore conducted a parallel design, randomized controlled experiment on 72 patients. Following baseline testing, participants were divided into two groups randomly. Natural apophyseal glides and baseline therapy were given to group A, whereas manual cervical traction and baseline treatment were given to group B. Three weeks of treatment were spent receiving three weekly sessions on a rotating basis. A neck disability index and a numeric pain rating scale were used for assessment at the baseline and second and third weeks of therapy. The data was examined using SPSS version 25. Results: Data was analyzed for 72 participants. Mean and standard deviation scores for pain in group A were 3.14 ± 0.601 and of group B were 3.34 ± 0.482 before treatment. The post treatment score for group A were 1.57 ± 0.502 and of group B were 1.63 ± 0.490 with P value 0.632. P value for disability was 0.11. Conclusion: Natural Apophyseal Glides is equally effective to manual cervical traction for relieving pain but found to be more effective for improving functional mobility.