Musculoskeletal Diseases
Conditions
Keywords
Forward head posture, Craniovertebral angle, Pilates mat exercises
Brief summary
see if there is no statistical significant difference between the effects of Pilates mat versus cervical stabilization exercises on myoelectric activity of cervical muscles in young adults with forward head posture.
Detailed description
Forward head posture (FHP) increases extension of the atlanto-occipital joint and the upper cervical vertebrae as well as flexion of the lower cervical and upper thoracic vertebrae. Furthermore, this posture causes persistent and abnormal contraction of the suboccipital, neck, and shoulder muscles. Additionally, the muscles around the head and shoulders, including the trapezius, sternocleidomastoid, suboccipital, and temporal, are affected by FHP, which further worsens postural deformity. FHP is the most common deviation from ideal head posture and is characterized by the head projecting forward into the sagittal plane such that it is anterior to the trunk. Head in forward posture can add up to thirty pounds of abnormal leverage on the cervical spine, which pull the entire spine out of alignment, in addition, loss of the physiological lordosis could be a possible cause of pain due to muscular imbalance.
Interventions
Pilates mat exercises: Each Pilates session will last for one hour and commence with a 10 minute warm up and finish with a 10 min cool down. The subjects will be taught the 5 key elements of Pilates (lateral costal breathing, centring which is a neutral position of the lumbar spine with activation of the core muscles, ribcage placement, shoulder blade placement and neutral position of the cervical spine with slight upper cervical flexion at the cranio-cervical junction). Pilates exercise program will consist of warm up exercises, main treatment program (10 level) and cooling down exercises.
training of deep cervical flexor muscles with pressure biofeedback unit, 20 min/day, 3 days/week for 12 weeks.
OTHERconventional physiotherapy
10 min hot pack on cervical area range of motion exercises and isometric neck exercises as a home program 3 days/week for 12 weeks
Sponsors
Cairo University
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
FACTORIAL
Primary purpose
OTHER
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 25 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Subjects of both genders aged 18-25 years old with forward head posture will be included in this study * Subjects have forward head posture if craniovertebral angle ≤ 50. * Subjects complain non- specific neck pain for at least 3 months or at least two episodes of non-specific neck pain during the last three months. * Normal body mass index
Exclusion criteria
* Subjects with any spinal problems * Subjects with experience in Pilates exercises through the last 3 months of the start of intervention will be excluded from the study * Previous surgery in the neck and shoulder regions * Current participation in a structured exercises program * Neurological symptoms of the upper extremities during screening tests (e.g., Spurling test and upper limb tension tests) * Red flags suggesting of cancer, infection, vascular insufficiency * Cervical radiculopathy or myelopathy
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Myoelectric activity of cervical muscles | up to twelve weeks | by surface electromyography (EMG) |
| Craniocervical angle | up to twelve weeks | by photogrammetric method. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Pain intensity of neck area | up to twelve weeks | by visual analogue scale 10 cm line with 2 ends, 0 and 10 ends 0 end means no pain 10 end means the worst pain |
| function of daily life | up to twelve weeks | by neck disability index |
Countries
Egypt
Outcome results
None listed