Acute effects of myofascial release technique applied with foam roller on posterior plane muscles in patients with mechanical neck pain

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the acute effects of myofascial release with foam roller on hamstring and gastrocnemius muscles to patients with mechanical neck pain (MNP) on parameters that cervical range of motion, pain and muscle strength on cervical region. Materials and Methods: The research consisted of pre-test and post-test evaluation phases. Forty-one participants (mean age: 22.1±2.3 years; mean height: 160±8 cm, mean weight: 65.2±16 kg) with MNP who scored 45 points in New York Posture Rating Chart were involved. To the hamstring and gastrocnemius muscles of participants on both extremities, the foam roller myofascial release technique was applied for a total duration of 12 minutes, consisting of 3 recurrences of 1-minute treatments. The evaluations were made prior to, and after the application. Pain intensity was assessed with Visual Analogue Scale. Cervical flexion, extension, lateral flexion, and rotation was measured by cervical range of motion device (C-ROM®). Muscle strength was measured by microFET2® hand dynamometer. The gathered datasets were analyzed via a non-parametric test. Results: Upon comparing the pre-test and post-test datasets, statistically significant improvements were observed in the measurements of pain intensity level, cervical range of motion and muscle strength throughout the spectrum (for all evaluations p0.001). Conclusion: A one-time session that involved the foam roller myofascial release technique was observed to have positive impacts on cervical range of motion, pain, and muscle strength of patients with mechanical neck pain.