Online supervised versus workplace corrective exercises for upper crossed syndrome: a protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Background and objective Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) including upper crossed syndrome (UCS) are considered as the leading cause of work-related issues worldwide among office workers. Therefore, the present study aims to evaluate the effect of workplace-based versus online-supervised home-based corrective exercises among office workers with UCS. Methods and design To this end, 45 subjects within the age range of 30–45 years are randomly assigned to three groups in the present parallel-group, randomized control trial using a pretest-posttest design. These groups include the subjects who receive online-supervised exercise and workplace exercise containing three sessions of intervention for 8 weeks and the control group receives no intervention while performing routine activities. The primary outcome variables are neck-shoulder pain (NSP) and consequent sick leave due to NSP, followed by alignment, workability, and the surface electromyography of upper, middle, and lower trapezius (UT, MT, and LT), sternocleidomastoid (SCM), and serratus anterior (SA) as the secondary variables. Discussion The present study seeks to assess the effect of workplace versus online-supervised corrective exercise interventions among 45 office workers suffering from UCS. It is expected to improve and reduce the related symptoms including postural malalignment and imbalance muscles after 8 weeks of corrective exercises. If effective, the findings may lead to adherence and work performance among the office workers, and individuals subjected to UCS can use the benefits of an online-supervised intervention. In addition, the findings may be useful in different workplaces as the evidence for employers to benefit from the reduction in the related costs and side effects of work-related neck/shoulder disorders including work disability, productivity loss, time expense, social insurance, work absenteeism, and treatment costs. Finally, clinicians and corrective exercise therapists can consider it as a clinical based-evidence intervention for their further actions. Trial registration Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials IRCT20200729048249N1. Registered on 5 October 2020 (https://en.irct.ir/user/trial/49992/view)

Corrective exercises administered online vs at the workplace for pain and function in the office workers with upper crossed syndrome: randomized controlled trial

“…Figure 1 demonstrates the whole procedure according to CONSORT guidelines to ensure the transparent and standardized reporting of the trial (Grant et al 2018 ). The study protocol has been published, and all detailed procedures have already been presented elsewhere (Yaghoubitajani et al 2021 ).

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“…The exercise program was prescribed concerning spontaneous postural alterations, muscle activation, movement pattern, and lack of scapula stabilization for the individuals with UCS suffering from NSP. A detailed pictorial description of the interventions, along with the list of the given corrective exercises to both interventional groups, is available elsewhere (Yaghoubitajani et al 2021 ).…”

“…The G × Power software (Version 3.0.10, Germany) was used to calculate the sample size regarding the effect size reported for the corrective exercises compared with the control group without any intervention in a similar study, totally ( n = 33). To avoid potential dropout during the study, a total of 45 subjects were considered adequate to compensate for the potential loss to follow-up; however, we achieved only 36 subjects due to recruitment difficulties related to the COVID pandemic, i.e., we assigned 12 subjects to each group (Yaghoubitajani et al 2021 ). The analyses were conducted using IBM SPSS version 20 for Windows (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA).…”

High versus Low-Intensity Resistance Training on Bone Mineral Density and Content Acquisition by Postmenopausal Women with Osteopenia: A Randomized Controlled Trial

“…The leading researcher enrolled and generated the random allocation sequence using the computer-generated block randomization retrievable ( ) with a 1 to 1 to 1 random block size of 3 ( 28 ). Participants were randomly assigned through concealed, sequentially numbered, sealed, and opaque envelopes and put a card inside them indicating the allocated group (HIRT, LIRT, and control groups), respectively.…”

IoT-Based Solution for Detecting and Monitoring Upper Crossed Syndrome

“…The correlation between forward head and hunchback postures with the development of UCS underscores the importance of predicting the likelihood of an individual to experience spinal disorders. Moreover, UCS cannot be detected directly; therefore, clinical features such as rounded upper back, shoulder protraction, and hunchback can be used to identify signs that the individual is experiencing UCS [ 9 ]. The lack of an effective, automated method to accurately detect and monitor signs of UCS using wearable technology necessitates the development of an integrated multi-layered framework.…”