THORACIC MANUAL THERAPY IN THE MANAGEMENT OF NECK PAIN: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

Abstract

Neck pain is associated with incredible human sufferings and financial costs. Different non-invasive interventions including physical therapy have been employed for treating neck pain patients. Manual therapy is the most commonly applied physical therapy intervention for managing neck pain.
Considering risk factors associated with cervical manual therapy, literature suggests that thoracic manual therapy should be used to avoid risks associated with cervical manual therapy and attain same therapeutic goals as achieved with cervical manual therapy. It is hard to pin down exact mechanism through which thoracic manual therapy helps in reducing neck pain. There are different views about the fact that how structure and activity of upper thoracic (T1-T3) region affects cervical region, yet there is strong anatomical, neural and biomechanical relationship between upper thoracic (T1-T3) and lower cervical (C4-C7) region. The current article aims to review the existing literature regarding thoracic manual therapy in the management of neck pain.