Comparison of Cyriax manipulation with traditional physical therapy for the management of cervical discogenic problems. A randomized control trial.

OBJECTIVE: To determine and compare the clinical outcome of Cyriax manipulation and traditional physical therapy for the treatment of cervical discogenic problems in terms of pain, range of motion and disability. METHODS: The randomised controlled trial was conducted at Benazir Bhutto Hospital, Rawalpindi, Pakistan, from January to June, 2018, and comprised patients having prolapsed intervertebral disc with neck or arm pain who were then randomly allocated into control and experimental groups using the sealed envelope method. The control group received cervical isometrics 10 repetitions ×1 set, 4 days/week and targeted muscle strechings 10 repetition × 1 set/day for 4 days/week. The experimental group received 10 min pre-manipulative massage and Cyriax manipulation protocol. Data was analysed using SPSS 20. RESULTS: Of the 40 subjects, there were 20(50%) in each of the two groups. The experimental group showed significance difference in terms of numeric pain rating scale, range of motion and the neck disability index (p<0.05 each). CONCLUSIONS: Cyriax manipulation was found to be significantly better than the traditional treatment of physiotherapy for cervical discogenic pain.

Frequency of work related musculoskeletal disorders and ergonomic risk assessments among tailors.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the frequency of work-related musculoskeletal disorders and to assess postural ergonomic risk among tailors. METHODS: The cross-sectional study was conducted from September 2017 to February 2018 in Rawalpindi and Islamabad, Pakistan and comprised tailors of both genders aged 25-60 years, working for more than 6 months and having small and medium enterprises. To calculate ergonomic risk of work posture, Quick Exposure Check was used and work-related musculoskeletal disorders were determined through body mapping chart. Data was analysed using SPSS 20. RESULTS: Of the 400 tailors, 382(95.5%) were males. The overall mean age of the sample was 36.9±10.96 years. The mean Quick Exposure Check score was 46.11±14.83. Acceptable work posture was found in 373(93.25%) subjects. The most common work-related acute musculoskeletal symptoms were found in the upper back 320(80%). CONCLUSIONS: Most tailors had acceptable work posture but work-related pain in upper back was common.