Effects of 6-Week Exercise Programme On Chronic Non-Specific Neck Pain In Women

This research is a pilot randomized controlled trial. The study participants were randomized by the researcher into two groups: telerehabilitation (TR) or conventional (CG), using permuted block randomization method. Five permuted blocks were used, each with a block size of 6, for example ABABAB, BABABA, AAABBB, AABBAB, and BBAABA. The co-researcher (KR) administered the treatment allocation by using sealed and opaque envelopes that were sequentially numbered. Data for the outcome measures (pretest and posttest) were obtained by the lead researcher (ZA), both at the beginning and end of the 6-week period. Convenience sampling method was opted for this study. Considering the fact that this is a pilot study, a total of 30 participants were anticipated, 15 for each group. The final sample of the study included 31 participants (15 in TR and 16 in CG). The dependent variables were pain score, disability index, CROM and cervical muscle endurance. All statistical analyses were carried out through SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) version 26.0. The Shapiro-Wilks test determined that the data had a normal distribution. Frequencies, means, and standard deviations (SD) were calculated applying descriptive analyses. The independent samples t-test was conducted to determine the baseline differences between the groups. For all within-group and between-groups analyses, repeated measures ANOVA was used at two distinct time points: 0 weeks and 6 weeks. Statistical significance was interpreted by a p-value of less than 0.05. Effect size statistics for pretest and posttest mean values for all variables in both groups were calculated using paired sample t-tests. Cohen’s d value benchmark was considered for effect size as small (d = 0.2), medium (d = 0.5), and large (d = 0.8) (24). The interpretation of effect size, for between-groups comparisons, was done utilizing the partial eta squared, with thresholds defined as follows: values greater than 0.01 are considered small, those exceeding 0.06 are deemed moderate, and those surpassing 0.14 are classified as large.