Introduction: Neck pain is defined in numerous ways in literature. Its origins are in different tissue areas in the cervical spine and it is caused by different mechanisms in various ways. The neck pain often causes problems that affect the patient’s quality of life. Two thirds of people experience it at least once in their lifetime. Choosing the right method of treatment isn’t easy, since literature provides numerous and often contradictory findings. The most common methods of neck pain treatment are manual therapy and exercise therapy, but lately the idea of combining these two methods has increased in literature. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to present the effects of manual therapy and exercise therapy on adults with nonspecific neck pains, through research of literature. Methods: The literature in question was found in the following databases: PubMed, PEDro and MEDLINE. The articles used were published between 2000 and 2017, are in the public domain and are written in English. The following key words were used in article search: neck pain, manual therapy, exercise therapy, mobilization, manipulation, physiotherapy. Results: Eight researches were included in the literature analysis, all of which discuss the effect of treatment methods on decreasing neck pain. Additionally, the degree of incapability was assessed in five researches, while three dealt with the impact on the quality of life. The results show a positive effect of these methods on relieving neck pain, decreasing the degree of incapability and improving the quality of life. Discussion and conclusion: It can be concluded that all three methods of treatment – manual therapy, exercise therapy and the combination of both – are efficient. However, it is difficult to determine the most effective method without further researches and studies.
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