INTRODUCTION: In order to analyze the effectiveness of the physiotherapeutic treatment in patients with chronic neck pain, this work had as a goal to evaluate the period before and after the physiotherapeutic treatment: quality of life as a WHOQOL-100 tool and the improvement of the range of motion (ROM), using a goniometer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 15 patients were members of this study (10 women and 5 men). RESULTS: Level of significance adopted was p < 0.05. It was observed significant improvement after physical therapy in the domain I - physical (p = 0.0117), in domain II - psychological (p = 0.004), the domain III - level of independence (p = 0.0006), domain IV - social relationships (p < 0.0001) and domain V - environment (p = 0.0019) and also in joint range of motion of cervical flexion (p< 0.0001), cervical extension (p = 0.0004), right head tilt (p < 0.0001), left head tilt (p < 0.0001) right lateral rotation (p < 0.0001) and left lateral rotation (p < 0.0001). DISCUSSION: Andersen et al. (17) reported that stretching exercises significantly improve the range of motion in women with chronic neck pain. Chiu et al. (20) observed improvement in chronic cervical pain and joint limitation after six weeks of treatment with TENS and exercise. CONCLUSIONS: This study concludes that the physioterapeutic intervention composed by stretching exercises, relaxation techniques, massage and electrotherapy were of positive effects for improving the quality of life and flexibility in patients with chronic neck pain.
Physiotherapy; Quality of life; Neck pain; Arthrometry articular
