ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: This randomized controlled trial was conducted to compare the effectiveness of global postural reeducation to segmental stretching in subjects with neck and shoulder pain. METHODS: Sixteen subjects with neck and shoulder pain were randomized into two intervention groups, a global posture reeducation group (n=8) that performed muscle chain stretching, and a segmental stretching group (n=8) that performed conventional static muscle stretching. The intervention program consisted of two 40 minutes individual sessions per week for four weeks. Subjects were evaluated pre-intervention, two-week after intervention and at a four-week follow-up appointment for pain intensity, disability and health-related quality of life. Two-way repeated analysis of variance was used for between-time and between-group comparisons. The significance level was 0.05. RESULTS: Significant pain relief and decreasing discomfort of the neck and shoulder were observed after intervention in both groups, and there was an interaction between time lapse and groups (pain, F=10.31, neck disability, F=25.45, shoulder disability, F=12.82, p0.05). CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that a GPR intervention in subjects with neck and shoulder pain induces greater improvement of pain and disability and quality of life than segmental stretching.