Effects of Gongs Mobilization and Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation in Patients With Adhesive Capsulitis

May 4, 2026 updated by: Riphah International University
The randomized controlled trail aims is to evaluate the outcome of Gongs mobilization and PNF in patients with adhesive capsulitis. The significance of this study is to compare Gong's mobilization technique with proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) compare their effects on pain, range of motion, and functional disability. The sample size was calculated with G-power. This study would include total 44 female participants aged 40-60 years will be recruited and randomly assigned to two groups. Group A(Gongs mobilization+ conventional therapy)and Group B(PNF+ Conventional therapy). Intervention will be provided for 4 weeks 3 session per week. Primary outcome measures are pain, ROM and functional disability via NPRS, Goniometer and U-SPADI. Outcomes will be reassessed at baseline, after 2nd week, and after 4th week.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Adhesive capsulitis ,which is also referred as frozen shoulder is described as a progressive and self-limiting condition leading to gradual onset of pain and loss of shoulder Range of motion. It restricts both Active and Passive movements due to adhesions in Glenohumeral(GH) joint capsule. which leads to fibrosis, scarring and contracture of joint capsule. As fibrosis progresses restricting the shoulder normal Range of motion. ultimately impacting person's daily activities and frequently interfering with sleep and making basic activities like combing hair , dressing and overhead activities difficult.

Gong's Mobilization(GM) serves as an effective technique in the treatment of Frozen shoulder, it was introduced by W. Gong, the mainstay of this mobilization is to correct the positional fault of the humeral head that is often medially rotated and dragged forward due to muscular tension of Subscapularis and Pectoralis Major along with the tightness of posterior capsule. Gong mobilization intends to keep the humeral head in its correct position during dynamic motion of the GH joint by keeping the affected scapula in anterior to posterior position and the humeral head in posterior to anterior direction at the same time. Proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) stretch is a technique commonly used in clinical environments to enhance both active and passive range of motion (ROM), with the ultimate goal of optimizing motor performance and rehabilitation

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

44

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • Pakistan
    • Punjab Province
      • Rawalpindi, Punjab Province, Pakistan, 46000
        • Recruiting
        • Pakistan Railway General Hospital

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Females in the age group between 40-60 years.
  • Diagnosed with Unilateral frozen shoulder.
  • Patients in frozen stage (progressive loss of ROM, marked stiffness with gradual pain reduction).
  • More than 25% painful limitation of GH ROM in two planes, more than 50% in external rotation(arm at 0 degree of abduction).

Exclusion Criteria:

  • History of surgery on the affected shoulder.
  • Patients having any cervical or thoracic problem.
  • Painful, stiff shoulder after severe trauma, inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and malignancies.
  • Recent fractures in and around the shoulder.
  • Rotator cuff disorder.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Gongs Mobilization
Gongs Mobilization + conventional Therapy
Behavioral: Gongs Mobilization
Glenohumeral mobilization (GM) will be performed in a side-lying position with the therapist standing on the affected side. An anterior-to-posterior glide will be applied to the humeral head parallel to the joint plane while the opposite hand stabilizes the scapula from posterior to anterior. The patient will perform quick shoulder abduction movements with the elbow extended as the therapist applies Maitland's Grade III-IV oscillatory glides, maintaining slight joint distraction and following the motion through the abduction phase. Each session will include two sets of five repetitions with a five-minute rest between sets, for a total of twelve sessions
Behavioral: Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation
The therapist will use proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) techniques specifically employing the hold-relax method followed by the D2 pattern of flexion-extension movement. Each session will last 15 minutes, comprising 10 sets of PNF. Each set will include 5 repetitions, with a 5-second hold and a 2-second rest between repetitions. This protocol will be administered over 12 sessions.
Experimental: Proprioceptive Neuromuscular facilitation
PNF + conventional Therapy
Behavioral: Gongs Mobilization
Glenohumeral mobilization (GM) will be performed in a side-lying position with the therapist standing on the affected side. An anterior-to-posterior glide will be applied to the humeral head parallel to the joint plane while the opposite hand stabilizes the scapula from posterior to anterior. The patient will perform quick shoulder abduction movements with the elbow extended as the therapist applies Maitland's Grade III-IV oscillatory glides, maintaining slight joint distraction and following the motion through the abduction phase. Each session will include two sets of five repetitions with a five-minute rest between sets, for a total of twelve sessions
Behavioral: Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation
The therapist will use proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) techniques specifically employing the hold-relax method followed by the D2 pattern of flexion-extension movement. Each session will last 15 minutes, comprising 10 sets of PNF. Each set will include 5 repetitions, with a 5-second hold and a 2-second rest between repetitions. This protocol will be administered over 12 sessions.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Numeric Pain Rating Scale
Time Frame: 4 weeks
Numeric pain rating scale is Subjective Assessment Tool used to assess level of discomfort patients are experiencing. It is eleven-point scale (0-10).whereas 0 indicates(no pain at all) and 10 indicates(worst imaginable pain).
4 weeks
Goniometer
Time Frame: 4 weeks
Universal goniometer is used to assess active and passive Range of motion
4 weeks
Shoulder pain and Disability Index Urdu version(SPADI-U)
Time Frame: 4 weeks
SPADI-U was Created to assess degree of pain and discomfort in carrying out activities of daily living by patients without any assistance. In the recent version 11-Point Numeric pain rating scale is used to rate each item. It has total 13 items, 5-items for evaluating pain and 8-items for disability.
4 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Riphah International University

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Fatima Miraj, DPT, Riphah International University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

September 1, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

May 5, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

May 15, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

May 4, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 4, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

May 8, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 8, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 4, 2026

Last Verified

May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • REC/02277 Fatima

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

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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