The Effect of Suboccipital Release Technique in Individuals With Anxiety

The Effect of Suboccipital Release Technique on Trapezius Muscle Activation and Pain in Individuals With Anxiety

The purpose of this study is to determine the immediate effect of the suboccipital release technique on trapezius muscle pain threshold, muscle activation, and anxiety level in individuals with anxiety.Thirty-six people with anxiety symptoms were included in the study. These people were divided into two groups, 18 control group and 18 treatment group. Upper trapezius muscle pain threshold, muscle activation and anxiety levels were evaluated. The experimental group received a single session of suboccipital release technique. The control group received a single session of sham suboccipital release. The evaluations were performed before and immediately after the treatment.The suboccipital release technique can increase the trapezius muscle upper part pain threshold and concentric muscle activation immediately after the application in individuals with anxiety.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Pain; Anxiety; Trapezius Muscle Strain
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Suboccipital Release Technique; Other: Sham Suboccipital Release

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 36
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Turkey
  • Merkez
    • Bolu, Merkez, Turkey, 14200
      • sezen Tezcan

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Being over the age of 18
• Agree to participate the study

Exclusion Criteria:

• Use psychiatric, analgesic and antispasmodic drugs

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Sham Comparator: Control Group	Other: Sham Suboccipital Release; The participants in the control group were given a sham application by touching the hands of the therapist on the nape of the neck and waiting for a while.
Experimental: Suboccipital Release Group	Other: Suboccipital Release Technique; The suboccipital release technique was applied to the participants in the experimental group by an experienced practitioner who had received osteopathy training. The individual lay in the supine position, and the practitioner applied the relaxation technique by placing his hands on the patient's nape-atlantooccipital joint. The application was continued until the relaxation of the muscles under the hand of the practitioner.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
The State- Trait Anxiety Inventory	The State Anxiety Scale includes questions that require the respondent to answer by taking into account his/her current feelings, while the Trait Anxiety Scale includes questions that evaluate how the respondent feels in general. It is a 4-point Likert scale. The total score obtained from both scales is minimum 20 and maximum 80. A high score indicates a high level of anxiety and a low score indicates a low level of anxiety.	Change from Baseline Anxiety Level at immediately after treatment
Pain Assessment	Pain threshold was evaluated with a manual algometer device. The midpoint of the upper trapezius muscle and the tender point with the highest pain were marked.	Change from Baseline anxiety level at Immediately After treatment
Surface Electromyography Measurements	Maximum Voluntary Concentration (MVC) value was then measured. For the MVC value, individuals were asked to push their shoulders up (in the upward direction) against a manual resistance for 5 seconds. The measurement was repeated 3 times and 2 rests were taken after each measurement. The highest of the values was used for normalization. Afterwards, the subjects were asked to perform active shoulder elevation (concentric activity) for 3 seconds and return to neutral position for 3 seconds with the metronome. For normalization, % MVC and function % MVC values were calculated using the values recorded for all recordings.	Change from Baseline anxiety level at Immediately After treatment
Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale	Toplam 14 maddeden oluşan (/ Anksiyete ve 7 Depresyon sorusu). 4'lü Likert tipinde bir ölçektir. 0-3 arasında bir puanlama yapılırç 0-1 puan hasta olmayan, 2 puan sınırda hasta, 2-3 puan ağır hasta olarak değerlendirilir.	Baseline

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Cranial Rhythm	Individuals were placed on the treatment bed in the supine position. The therapist touched the individual's skull and recorded the number of cycles received in one minute.	Change from Baseline anxiety level at Immediately After treatment

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Abant Izzet Baysal University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): March 1, 2022
• Primary Completion (Actual): July 6, 2022
• Study Completion (Actual): February 28, 2023

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 20, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 31, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): April 13, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 13, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 9, 2024
• Last Verified: May 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Anxiety Disorders
• Other Study ID Numbers: AIBU-FTR-ST-02

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No