The effect of classic neck physical therapy program combined with neck, back and shoulder strengthening exercises on pain, disability and sleep quality in patients with chronic neck pain

In this study, the effects of back and shoulder strengthening exercises on pain, sleep quality and neck disability level were investigated in addition to the classical neck physical therapy program in individuals with chronic neck pain. Forty volunteers aged between 18-60 years with chronic neck pain were included in the study. Forty participants who met the inclusion criteria in our study were randomized with a simple random method and divided into two equal groups to perform classical neck exercises and neck exercises combined with back and shoulder strengthening exercises. The classical neck physical therapy program was 50 minutes and the exercises were 25-30 minutes, five days a week for three weeks. Classic neck physical therapy program and exercises were applied in the clinic under the supervision of a physiotherapist. During the study, the pain level of the participants was evaluated with the Visual Analog Scale, the neck disability level was evaluated with the Neck Disability Index, and the sleep quality assessment was evaluated with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. As a result of the study, both of the groups showed significant improvements in the joint range of motion, VAS values, Neck Disability Index and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index scores. There were no statistically significant differences between the groups.