The Impact of Suboccipital Muscle Release on Pain and Range of Motion in the Cervical Spine of Young Adults

Introduction: Limited mobility and pain in the cervical spine affect 50% of the population, leading to disability and a reduction in quality of life. It is important to use effective forms of therapy. One of them, enjoying growing popularity, is deep tissue massage, the stability of which requires confirmation in scientific research. Research objective: The aim of the study was to investigate how a single deep tissue massage therapy aimed at suboccipital muscles reduces pain and improves the range of motion in the cervical spine and how long the improvement lasts. Research materials and methods: The study participants included 41 people aged 20-34. The respondents were randomly divided into 2 groups: study (21 people) and control (20 people). The subjects completed a questionnaire consisting of 14 questions and were subjected to 2 tests for evaluating cervical spine stability: the covering membrane test and the anterior occipital membrane test. Then, the measurements of pain on the VAS scale (0-10) and the range of cervical mobility were collected. Measurements were taken before, immediately after, as well as 2 and 4 weeks following the therapeutic intervention. The therapy in the study group consisted of a single, 10-minute relaxation session of the sub-occipital muscles. In the control group, cervical spine traction, lasting 30 seconds, was performed 3 times. Results: In the study group, the pain decreased statistically significantly (p<0.05), before the therapy it totalled 4.33 ± 1.49, while after the therapy, its value decreased to 2.05 ± 0.86 and lasted up to 2 weeks after the massage – 2.67 ± 1.49. In the control group, the pain level before the therapy was 4.25 ± 0.76, and following the therapy, it decreased to 3 ± 0.95 and then increased to the mean value of 4 ± 1 (after 2 weeks). On average, the level equalled 4.25 ± 0.76 (after 4 weeks). In the study group, the range of flexion motion was, on average, 3.24 ± 1.00 cm, extension, mean 6.90 ± 1.14 cm, lateral flexion to the left, on avg. 4.76 ± 0.62, to the right on avg. 4.90 ± 1.04 cm, left rotation on avg. 8.43 ± 0.81, and right rotation on avg., 8.19 ± 1.08 cm. After deep tissue massage therapy, the results differed from the range of motion results obtained in the control group: flexion totalled 5.67 ± 0.48 cm immediately after therapy and 4.90 ± 1.34 cm 2 weeks post-intervention, extension 8.57 ± 0.87 cm immediately after therapy and 7.62 ± 1.47 cm 2 weeks after therapy, and finally, left lateral flexion 5.52 ± 0.81 directly following the therapy and 5.43 ± 0.93 cm 2 weeks after therapy. Conclusions: 1. Single-session deep tissue massage therapy significantly reduces pain and increases range of motion in the cervical spine. 2. The effects last up to 2 weeks following the therapy.