Effect of Electrical Stimulation on Forward Head Posture
For patients and families
In plain language
An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.
- What is being studied
- The protocol lists: electrical muscle stimulation device (EMS gymna), physical therapy program.
- Who it may be relevant to
- Registry conditions: Forward Head Posture, Rounded Shoulder Posture. Basic parameters: 15 years — 18 years · Female.
- What needs checking
- Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
- Where it takes place
- Egypt
- Next step
- Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →
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Official title
Effect of Electrical Stimulation on Painful Forward Head and Protracted Shoulder Posture in Adolescents
Overview
The study aims are: 1. To investigate the effect of electrical stimulation (interferential current) on forward head posture and protracted shoulder in adolescents. 2. To investigate the effect of electrical stimulation on cervical pain, cervical ROM, neck muscle strength, and quality of life in adolescents with forward head posture and protracted shoulder.
Detailed description
Forward head posture (FHP) is commonly defined as the protrusion of the head in the sagittal plane so that the head is placed anterior to the trunk. It can occur because of anterior translation of the head, and it is claimed to be associated with an increase in upper cervical extension, lower cervical flexion, or both.
Patients with FHP often experience neck pain and disability, it is associated with shortening of the upper trapezius, the posterior cervical extensor muscles, the sternocleidomastoid muscle, and levator scapulae muscle. Thus, FHP may contribute to neck and shoulder pain.
The prolonged uses of mobile phones and computers have led to a variety of musculoskeletal disorders, especially related to the neck as: Forward Head Posture (FHP), rounded shoulders (RS), upper cross syndrome, mechanical neck pain etc. FHP is one in which the upper cervical convexity is increased and the lower cervical convexity is decreased causing anterior weight bearing of the cervical spine. It is also known as Scholar's neck or Reading neck.
Electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) has been used as a complementary training method, applied either locally or to the whole body. It activates muscles artificially through various electrical current forms, which are delivered through electrodes on the target muscles.
Interferential current (IFC) is an established therapy which is used to treat pain and also effective for providing relaxation of muscles. The application of IFC at the medium frequency which suggests higher penetration of the electrical stimulation in the tissue by reducing tissue impedance
Interventions
- Device electrical muscle stimulation device (EMS gymna)
muscle stimulant device - Other physical therapy program
neck exercises
Primary outcome measures
- shoulder angle (SA) [Time frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks]
- craniovertebral angle (CVA) [Time frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks]
- head tilt angle (HTA) [Time frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks]
- head position angle (HPA) [Time frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks]
Secondary outcome measures (3)
- Pain sensation [Time frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks]
- cervical range of motion [Time frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks]
- neck muscles strength [Time frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks]
Eligibility criteria
Inclusion criteria
- Girls aged between (15-18) years old.
- Normal weight with BMI ranging from (16-25).
- Adolescents with mild and moderate forward head posture(FHP).
- Adolescents with mild and moderate neck pain.
- Adolescents with protracted shoulder.
Exclusion criteria
- Cervical disc.
- Previous Shoulder trauma within last 6months.
- Shoulder surgery.
- Cervical fracture.
- Congenital posture deformity.
- Inflammatory disease, spinal tumor, spinal compression, spinal cord infection.
- Taking any medication for pain
Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.
Healthy volunteers: No
Study design
- Allocation
- Randomized
- Model
- Parallel assignment
- Masking
- Single blind
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
Study locations
Egypt · 1 center
- Faculty of Physical Therapy — Dokki
Publications
- Elgendy MH, Ghaffar MAA, Sabbahi SAE, Abutaleb EES, Elsayed SEB. Efficacy of head postural correction program on craniovertebral angle, scapular position, and dominant hand grip strength in forward head posture subjects: A randomized controlled trial. Physiother Res Int. 2024 Jul;29(3):e2093. doi: 10.1002/pri.2093. PMID 38780139
- Titcomb DA, Melton BF, Miyashita T, Bland HW. Evidence-Based Corrective Exercise Intervention for Forward Head Posture in Adolescents and Young Adults Without Musculoskeletal Pathology: A Critically Appraised Topic. J Sport Rehabil. 2022 Feb 16;31(5):640-644. doi: 10.1123/jsr.2021-0381. Print 2022 Jul 1. PMID 35172275
Identifiers
NCT: NCT06745960 · forward head posture · P.T.REC/012/005173