Effects of Adding Whole-Body Vibration to Routine Exercise Therapy on Pain, Disability, Muscle Strength, and...

Chronic nonspecific neck pain (CNNP) is highly prevalent, and exercise therapy is regarded as an effective intervention. Whole-body vibration (WBV) may enhance neuromuscular activation and potentially improve muscle strength and endurance; however, evidence on its application in individuals with neck pain remains limited. This study aimed to compare the additive effects of WBV combined with exercise therapy versus exercise therapy alone on pain, disability, cervical muscle strength, and endurance in individuals with CNNP.

In this single-blinded randomized clinical trial, 24 participants aged 25-50 years with CNNP were randomly assigned to the experimental group (6-week home-based routine exercise therapy + WBV) or the control group (6-week home-based routine exercise therapy alone) (n = 12 each). WBV was delivered through 18 supervised sessions, three sessions per week for 6 weeks. Outcome measures included pain (VAS), disability (Neck Disability Index), cervical flexor and extensor strength (handheld dynamometer), and muscle endurance (Harris test). Assessments were performed at baseline and after 6 weeks using the interventions. Paired t-tests were used for within-group comparisons, and ANCOVA for between-group analyses at a significance level of 0.05.

Both groups demonstrated significant within-group improvements in pain, disability, and cervical muscle performance over the 6-week intervention period (p < 0.001). Compared with the control group, the experimental group showed greater post-intervention reductions in pain (11.20 ± 6.07 vs. 18.60 ± 9.06 mm; p = 0.002; partial η ² = 0.321) and disability (11.20 ± 4.34 vs. 15.46 ± 4.06%; p = 0.027; partial η ² = 0.252), as well as greater improvements in cervical flexor strength (5.60 ± 0.71 vs. 4.90 ± 0.37 N; p = 0.006; partial η ² = 0.311) and flexor endurance (78 ± 28 vs. 47 ± 12 s; p < 0.001; partial η ² = 0.381). No significant between-group differences were observed for cervical extensor strength or endurance (p > 0.05).

Adding WBV to routine exercise therapy may provide short-term additional benefits in pain, disability, and cervical flexor performance in individuals with CNNP. However, these preliminary findings should be interpreted cautiously due to the small sample size, absence of follow-up assessment, and supervision differences between groups.