Effect of PNF Exercise on Mechanical Neck Pain in IT Professional
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Abstract
Background: Mechanical neck pain is common among information technology professionals because prolonged computer use, sustained sitting, forward-head posture and repetitive occupational demands can contribute to muscular imbalance, altered motor control and neck-related disability. Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF) uses manual resistance, contract-relax, hold-relax, rhythmic stabilization, dynamic reversals and diagonal movement patterns to facilitate neuromuscular control and functional movement. Objective: To investigate the effectiveness of PNF exercises in reducing pain and neck-related disability in IT professionals with mechanical neck pain. Methods: Thirty IT professionals aged 25–45 years with chronic mechanical neck pain were allocated to two groups (n=15 each). The experimental group received PNF exercises with conventional physiotherapy, while the control group received a conventional physiotherapy/stretching programme. The detailed intervention protocol specifies supervised sessions three times weekly for four weeks (12 sessions), with approximately 45 minutes per experimental session. Pain was assessed using the Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS), and functional disability using the Neck Disability Index (NDI). Paired and independent t-tests were described for statistical comparison. Results: In the experimental group, NPRS decreased from 7.0±0.85 to 2.93±0.80 and NDI decreased from 42.73±2.66 to 20.40±2.32; both changes were reported as statistically significant (p=0.001). The thesis reports significant post-treatment differences between the experimental and control groups, particularly for NDI. However, the control post-NPRS mean and several statistical labels are internally inconsistent across the source tables and require verification before journal submission. Conclusion: The reported findings support PNF exercises combined with conventional physiotherapy as a potentially effective approach for reducing pain and disability in IT professionals with mechanical neck pain, while the source statistical inconsistencies should be corrected before final publication.
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