Effect of First Rib Mobilization in Mechanical Neck Pain with Radiculopathy for Pain Relief

Abstract

Objective: To check the effectiveness of First Rib Mobilization (FRM) in mechanical neck pain with radiculopathy for pain relief. Methods: Fifty patients with age between 21- 60 years, who fulfilled the study sample selection criteria were registered in the study. After sample selection of 50 subjects (by scientific calculator) by using convenient sampling technique, a written consent was signed from each participant before any assessment and management. All subjects were treated by applying Maitland grade I, II first rib mobilization for a session comprising on 20 minutes. The subjects were treated thrice in a week for next 2 weeks. The participants were assessed before and after treatment. Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS) was used to record pain severity level. A self-structured validated questionnaire was used to collect the demographics. Pain was assessed before and after first rib mobilization by using paired sample t-test was done to see the changes in the mean pain score. Results: There was a note worthy change in NPRS means before and after treatment in context of statistics which was (t=19.29 and p=0.000). All subjects showed significant level of improvement in pain and discomfort with FRM because the calculated p value was (p=0.000), which was less than the reference p value 0.05. Conclusion: The study concluded that FRM was an effective treatment for subjects with mechanical neck ache and radicular symptoms