Introduction: Cervical spine pain is a common musculoskeletal disorder. There is lack of clarity in the superiority for specific application of various exercise protocols. Structured exercise protocols are commonly prescribed by physiotherapists and few also advocate McKenzie protocol as being effective. Aim of the Study: To compare a structured exercise protocol with McKenzie protocol for patients suffering from chronic mechanical cervical spine pain. Methodology: Thirty subjects, 15 in each group, were selected from hospitals and clinics in and around Noida and NCR on the basis of inclusion and exclusion criteria and were divided randomly. One group was assessed and given McKenzie protocol and the other group was assessed and given a structured exercise therapy protocol for three weeks. Design: Experimental pre-test / post-test design. Data Analysis: Using SPSS 17.0 “t” test was applied to compare the pain and neck disability index values in pre and post interventions. A p value of < 0-05 was selected as the level of significance. Results: Independent t–test values, i.e., 1.980 and .645 were not significant for pain and neck disability index, respectively, between both the groups. Conclusion: There is no significant difference in pain checked by visual analog scale and disability by Neck Disability Index, between the McKenzie method and structured exercise protocol for patients with mechanical cervical spine pain.

Key Words: Mechanical neck pain; cervical spine; McKenzie protocol.