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Background: Although it is thought that there is a relationship between neck pain and scapular dysfunction, there are controversial results and no clear information in the literature regarding this issue. This study aimed to investigate the alterations in the 3-Dimensional scapular orientation on patients with non-specific neck pain., Method: Thirty-four patients with chronic non-specific neck pain [age, 29.1 (5) years; height, 165.3 (6.1) centimeters; weight, 62.1 (9.6) kilogram] and 29 healthy controls [age, 28.2 (3.3) years; height, 166.8 (8.1) centimeters; weight, 60.9 (8.5) kilogram] were included in the study. 3-Dimensional scapular kinematics were obtained during arm elevation and lowering trials in the sagittal, scapular, and frontal planes., Findings: Compared to healthy controls, the patients with neck pain demonstrated significantly reduced upward scapular rotation on both the dominant and non-dominant sides in all three planes. Patients with neck pain had increased internal rotation in the sagittal and frontal planes on the dominant side and increased external rotation in the frontal plane on the non-dominant side. No difference was observed between groups considering posterior scapular tilt., Interpretation: There are alterations in the 3-Dimensional scapular orientations in patients with chronic non-specific neck pain compared to healthy controls. Therefore, the scapular control may also be examined in patients with neck pain and it can be included in the rehabilitation program if needed., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of additional 6-week scapular stabilization training in patients with nonspecific neck pain (NNP)., Materials and Methods: A total of 30 patients with NNP were randomly allocated to the study. Fifteen participants in the intervention group received neck-focused exercise and scapular stabilization training, whereas 15 participants in the control group received neck-focused exercise training. All groups were evaluated at baseline and after 6 weeks of rehabilitation. The pain intensity on the neck was measured with the visual analog scale (VAS). The self-reported disability status was measured with the neck disability index (NDI). Three-dimensional scapular kinematics were recorded during dynamic shoulder elevation trials using an electromagnetic tracking device, and data were further analyzed at 30°, 60°, 90°, and 120° of humerothoracic elevations., Results: Comparisons revealed that, regardless of the received treatment, after 6 weeks of training both groups showed significant improvements in VAS (P < .001) and NDI (P < .001) scores. Both VAS and NDI outcomes have a large effect size (r = .618 and r = .619, respectively). For scapular kinematics, there were no group differences, especially for scapular upward-downward rotation and anterior-posterior tilt (P > .05). However, in the intervention group, the scapula was more externally rotated at 120° humerothoracic elevation (P = .04)., Conclusion: Findings of this study showed that both manual therapy and active interventions, including neck-focused exercise and scapular stabilization training, are effective in decreasing pain and disability level in patients with NNP. More comprehensive studies with longer follow-up durations are needed to better understand the potential effects of scapular stabilization training in patients with NNP.