Cervical and Thoracic Spine, Development and Design of Mobile App, Exercise Adherence, Preventive Physiotherapy
Conditions
Keywords
mHealth; Postural alignment; Preventive physiotherapy; Exercise adherence; Neck pain; Upper back pain
Brief summary
Postural alignment in the cervical and thoracic regions is affected by various risks such as smartphone use in particular young adults. The small screen of smartphones causes ergonomic risk for posture and musculoskeletal system. Previous studies found that neck, shoulder, and upper back pain associated with the overuse of smartphones. Neck pain often arises from unideal postures. Participants should be informed about these risks and encouraged to exercise to be protective. Digital health apps' use is rising by the day and health apps offer opportunities for both healthcare professionals and users. Therefore, this study aimed to develop an app including preventive exercise interventions to keep postural alignment in cervical and thoracic spine regions employing an iterative, user-centred design and to test the usability of the app and evaluate its effectiveness with a pilot randomized controlled trial
Interventions
OTHERApp-based group
Participants received home exercise programs by a postural alignment exercise mobile app we developed. The postural alignment app included 3 main emerged themes were recorded as self-assessment, neck/shoulder, and upper back-specific exercise content, and motivational notifications. Participants can evaluate themselves in the application thanks to the self-assessment, receive motivational notifications during the day, and exercise reminders on the days determined by them. They can apply the exercise program with the formed exercise content videos. The exercise program consists of combined exercises that postural alignment plus exercises of neck spinal stabilization, stretching, and strengthening of neck/shoulders/upper back regions. Both group participants were requested to do the exercises from the app/brochure 3 times a week, for 6 weeks.
OTHERControl group
Participants received home exercise programs as a paper handout. The exercise program was the same for app-based and control groups. Both group participants were requested to do the exercises from the app/brochure 3 times a week, for 6 weeks.
Sponsors
Marmara University, Scientific Research Projects Committee
Marmara University
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 25 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* to be a university student aged 18-25, to be a smartphone user for more than 3 years with more than three hours daily use.
Exclusion criteria
* if they had any chronic health problems (rheumatic, orthopedic, neurological, cardiopulmonary, vestibular system), any trauma in the neck/upper back/upper limb region in the last six months, had a congenital deformity, had received another treatment or having surgery in last one year.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Evaluation of musculoskeletal problems | Baseline | Musculoskeletal problems were assessed by Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire. The Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire queries yes/no for nine body regions so far, in the last 12 months, and in the last 7 days of evaluation, whether ache, pain, or discomfort. |
| VAS | Baseline and at end of the 6 weeks | Neck pain was assessed by Visual Analog Scale (VAS) before and after the 6 weeks exercise program. The participants were instructed to mark a point on a line between zero (no pain) and 10 cm (maximum pain). |
| Neck Pain and Disability Scale | Baseline and at end of the 6 weeks | Functional disability associated with neck pain was evaluated by the Neck Pain and Disability Scale (NPAD) questionnaire before and after the 6 weeks exercise program. The Neck Pain and Disability Scale consists of 20 items and each item was scored from 0 to 5, and the total score is the sum of the item scores \[possible range 0 (no pain)-100 (maximal pain)\]. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Evaluation of exercise adherence | At end of the 6 weeks | The app automatically gathers total usage status (count of participated sessions, usage times) when participants login to the app to start an exercise program. Exercise adherence was measured with a ratio of total participated sessions compared with the target defined. |
| Evaluation of app satisfaction | At end of the 6 weeks | Users were evaluated to rate their satisfaction with the intervention on a 5-point Likert scale after 6 weeks period. |
Countries
Turkey (Türkiye)
Outcome results
None listed