Upper Cross Syndrome and Neck Proprioception

Study Title:Correlation Between Upper Cross Syndrome and Neck Proprioception

Hypothesis:There will be no statistically significant relationship between upper cross syndrome and neck proprioception.

Methodology:

Study Design:Randomized controlled trial

Inclusion criteria

Office workers using a computer for at least 4 hours daily

Aged between 28 and 48 years

Neck pain (NP) between 3 and 8 cm on a visual analog scale (VAS) (0 = no pain, 10 = unbearable pain)

Chronic nonspecific neck pain lasting for more than 3 months

Forward head posture (FHP) less than 46°

Patients willing and able to participate in an exercise program safely without cognitive impairments that would limit participation

Exclusion criteria

Specific causes of NP (e.g., systemic, rheumatic, neuromuscular diseases)

Central or peripheral neurological signs

Cognitive impairment

History of spinal surgery

Physical therapy treatments in the last 6 months prior to baseline assessment

Participants missing at least three consecutive or four nonconsecutive sessions

Outcome Measures:

Spinal Curvature Assessment Using Spinal Mouse DeviceThe spinal mouse device is physically guided along the skin of the spine

Neck Pain MeasurementNP is evaluated using a 10-cm VAS, a widely used clinical tool for assessing pain treatment effectiveness.

Neck Disability Index (NDI)Disability is assessed using the NDI questionnaire.

Measurement of Cervical Range of Motion (CROM) Using a CROM

Assessment of Cervical Proprioception Using the CROM DeviceHead Reposition Accuracy Tests:

Neutral Head Position (NHP) Test: Measures the ability to actively reposition the head to the self-selected neutral position.

Target Head Position (THP) Test: Measures the ability to actively reposition the head to a previously demonstrated target position.

Inclusion criteria

• office workers (using a computer at least 4 h),

• aged between 28 and 48 years,
• NP between 3 and 8 cm on a visual analog scale (VAS) (from 0 indicating no pain at all to 10 indicating unbearable pain),
• chronic nonspecific neck pain lasting for more than 3 months, and FHP less than 46° (Fathollahnejad et al., 2019).
• Patients willing and able to participate in an exercise program safely and without cognitive impairments that would limit their participation.

Exclusion criteria

• specific causes of NP (e.g., systemic, rheumatic, neuromuscular diseases), central or peripheral neurological signs, cognitive impairment, spinal surgery, or physical therapy treatments in the last 6 months prior to the baseline assessment.
• Participants would be also excluded if they missed at least three consecutive or four nonconsecutive sessions (Fathollahnejad et al., 2019).