Effects of Active Release Technique Versus Stecco Facial Manipulation in Patient With Chronic Non-specific Neck Pain

July 21, 2026 updated by: Riphah International University

Effects of Active Release Technique Versus Stecco Facial Manipulation on Pain, Craniovertebral Angle, and Functional Disability in Patients With Chronic Non-specific Neck Pain.

Non-specific pain that originates from the superior nuchal line and extends to the first thoracic vertebrae. It is exacerbated by sustained neck postures, neck movements or cervical muscle palpation. Neck pain is a work-related musculoskeletal disease that can arise during prolonged or high-intensity activity. Increasingly, individuals seek medical attention for discomfort in the neck, upper extremities, and head caused by chronic tension. Neck discomfort is often caused by mechanical dysfunction that restricts joint movement inside the joint capsule. Active Release Technique(ART) is a manual release of tight soft tissue which targets on SCM, levator scapulae, suboccipital and Upper trapezius. Stecco Fascial Manipulation is an efficient manual soft tissue treatment method that particularly address in the areas of myofascial pain and discomfort, locomotor issues, and posture dysfunction. The aim of this study is to treat the patients having chronic non specific neck pain through the Active Release Technique (ART) and Stecco Facial Manipulation and to compare their effects that can affect cervical flexibility and to improve the symptom parameters of the regarding individual.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The current study will be Randomized Clinical Trial. Inclusion criteria for this study is the individual with chronic non specific neck pain between the age group of 20-40yr. Patient with any history of trauma or surgery in cervical region and any other cervical pathology will be excluded from the study. A sample of 44 individual with CNSNP will be selected from both genders. Tools used for the Data collection will be Numeric Pain Rating Scale(NPRS), Neck Disability Index(NDI) and Goniometer. Participants will be measured before and after treatment to assess changes. Interventions are carried out 5 days in a week for one hour daily. In this study descriptive statistical tools will used to analyze the data. Data will be analyzed through SPSS version 21.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

48

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

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:

  • Individuals of both genders
  • Age between 20-40yrs(19).
  • Neck pain persisting for more than 3 months
  • Neck Disability Index (NDI) score between 10-30) (20).

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients with history of trauma or surgery were excluded.

    • Cervical pain patients with radiculopathy were excluded.
    • Patients diagnosed cases of rheumatoid arthritis, or any systemic musculoskeletal disorders were excluded.
    • Patients use of muscle relaxants or undergoing any other physiotherapy for neck issues in the past 3 months were excluded.
    • Patients with cervical disc herniation or whiplash injuries were excluded.
    • Pregnancy or known hormonal conditions affecting musculoskeletal system were excluded.

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: GROUP A: Active Release Technique
Group A will be treated with the active release technique
Other: Active Release Technique
Active release technique is a manual release of tight soft tissue that targets the upper trapezius, SCM, Levator scapulae, and sub occipital muscle to improve posture and reduce tightness and pain
Active Comparator: GROUP B: Stecco Method
Group B was treated with stecco method
Other: STECCO Method

Stecco method, also known as Fascial Manipulation, is a manual therapy technique developed by Luigi Stecco, which focuses on releasing tension and restoring normal glide in the fascial system, especially where myofascial dysfunction is contributing to pain and restriction.

Stecco method is applied specifically to the Levator scapulae, SCM, subocccipital, and upper trapezius muscles .All commonly involved in chronic non-specific neck pain.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Numeric pain rate scale
Time Frame: upto 6 weeks
The numerical rating scale (0-10), with 0 meaning no pain, and 10 meaning the worst unbearable pain, as measurement of pain intensity.
upto 6 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
2. Universal Goniometer
Time Frame: upto 6 weeks
Universal goniometer is a popular tool in the clinical and rehabilitation environment to determine the joint angles and evaluate the range of movement (ROM).
upto 6 weeks
Neck Disability index for functional Disability (NDI)
Time Frame: upto 6 weeks
The Neck Disability Index(NDI) is a questionnaire designed to assess self-rated impairment of the individuals experiencing neck discomfort. It has ten questions on most aspects of daily living, such as the severity of pain, self-care, lifting, reading, and entertainment. This Questionnaire has a reliability of 0.87.The question has six answer options (including 0 (no disability) and 5 (full impairment). The total score ranges 0 to 50 whereby higher scores are going to be a greater impairment. It may also be stated as a percentage (0 to 100%)
upto 6 weeks
Flexion Rotation Test
Time Frame: upto 6 weeks
Flexion Rotation Test (FRT) a physical examination instrument of specifying the rotation within the upper neck, particularly C1-C2. It helps to identify rotational, and can suggest chronic non specific neck pains or other upper cervical spine dysfunctions.
upto 6 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 Nadeem, MSPT*, 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 (Estimated)

July 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

November 30, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 30, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

July 21, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 21, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

July 24, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

July 24, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 21, 2026

Last Verified

July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • REC/RCR & AHS/25/0138 Fatima-N

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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