The exclusion criteria were the presence of cervical disc hernia, or advanced cervical osteoarthritis, radiculopathy or myelopathy, fi bromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, rheumatological diseases such as spondyloarthritis or hormonal diseases such as hypo/hyperthyroidism and hyperparathyroidism, a history of cervical or spinal surgery, having had an injection or physical therapy on a trigger point in the previous 6 months, pregnancy, kyphosis or scoliosis, cardiovascular problems, an un-
co-operative patient or the patient could not be contacted, and the patient did not regularly attend the treatment programme or follow-up appointments.