Matrix hythm therapy in chronic neck pain: A pilot study

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the effects of Matrix Rhythm Therapy (MRT) with combined physiotherapy treatment on pain intensity, muscle spasm, disability level and depressive symptoms in chronic neck pain. Material and Methods: A total of 26 participants with a mean age of 44.46 +/- 9,98 years were randomly divided into two groups (Intervention and control group). Each participant was treated with ten sessions of a combined physiotherapy program, including hot pack, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, therapeutic ultrasound and conventional massage, exercises and patient education. Additionally, the intervention group received five sessions of MRT. Pain intensity, muscle spasm, disability level and depressive symptoms were assessed before and after the treatment program. Results: There was a statistically significant improvement in pain, muscle spasm and disability levels after treatment in both groups (p<0.05), except for depression scores (p>0.05). The difference in change values in terms of activity pain and muscle spasms was found in favor of the intervention group (p<0.05), but there was no difference between the groups in terms of rest pain, disability level and depression scores (p>0.05). Discussion: The findings of the study suggest that both the combined physiotherapy program and the MRT application in addition to the combined physiotherapy program have a positive effect on pain, muscle spasms and disability levels in patients with chronic neck pain. On the other hand, MRT increased the efficiency of the combined physiotherapy treatment in the terms of activity pain and muscle spasm in patients with chronic neck pain.