Forward Head PostureNCT06745960
Effect of Electrical Stimulation on Forward Head Posture
A study testing electrical muscle stimulation device (EMS gymna) and physical therapy program in people with Forward Head Posture and Rounded Shoulder Posture, run by Cairo University at 1 site in Egypt.
Trial summary
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… Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 15 to 18 years, women only
- Conditions the study is for
- Forward Head Posture, Rounded Shoulder Posture
- What is being tested?
- electrical muscle stimulation device (EMS gymna) and physical therapy program
- Type of treatment
- Medical device
- Could I receive a placebo?
- Yes, some participants may receive a placebo
- How many people
- 40 participants
- Where
- 1 siteEgypt
- Study dates
- Jan 2025to May 2025
- Phase
- Interventional
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 15 to 18 years
- Women only
- No healthy volunteers
- Child, Adult
Who may be able to join
- 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.
Who cannot join
- 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
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
Egypt1 site
Faculty of Physical Therapy
Dokki, Giza Governorate
faculty of physical therapy CU Cairo university, +2037617691, info@pt.cu.edu.eg
About this study
Official title: Effect of Electrical Stimulation on Painful Forward Head and Protracted Shoulder Posture in Adolescents
The study aims are:
- To investigate the effect of electrical stimulation (interferential current) on forward head posture and protracted shoulder in adolescents.
- 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.
Read the 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
- Conditions
- Forward Head Posture, Rounded Shoulder Posture
- Being tested
- electrical muscle stimulation device (EMS gymna), physical therapy program
- Keywords
- electrical stimulation, interferential current, adolescence
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
electrical muscle stimulation device (EMS gymna)Device
muscle stimulant device
physical therapy programOther
neck exercises
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| intervention group | Active comparator | study group (interferential current ) Receives: Device: electrical muscle stimulation device (EMS gymna); Other: physical therapy program |
| physical therapy exercises group | Placebo comparator | control group (exercise group) Receives: Other: physical therapy program |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
shoulder angle (SA)
To measure Shoulder Angle (SA) of rounded shoulder, a line from anterolateral aspect of acromion to C7 will be taken and a horizontal line from anterolateral aspect of acromion , it will be considered as forward shoulder when the angle is 52 degree or less.
Measured: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks
craniovertebral angle (CVA)
To measure Craniovertebral Angle (CVA) of forward head posture, a line from C7 to tragus of the ear will be taken and a horizontal line from C7 (the normal CVA more than 50 degree).
Measured: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks
head tilt angle (HTA)
To measure head tilt angle (HTA) or cranial angle (CA) the angle of the line between the canthus of the eye and horizontal line from the tragus, the head tilt angles is 17.74 ± 4.9 degrees in people with normal head posture.
Measured: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks
head position angle (HPA)
To measure head position angle (HPA) angle between the tragus manubrium line and the line extending from the center point of chin to the tragus, the angle is 38.1 ± 4.9 degrees in people with normal head posture.
Measured: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks
Secondary outcomes (3)
Pain sensation
pain will be measured by visual analogue scale (VAS) , it is a numeric scale where 0 means no pain and 10 mean maximum pain.
Measured: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks
cervical range of motion
cervical rang of motion will be measured by goniometer, where the normal angles for each movement are Flexion 60 degree , Hyperextension 75 degree, Lateral Flexion 45 degree, Rotation 80 degree.
Measured: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks
neck muscles strength
neck muscles strength will be measured by hand held dynamometer, strength is measured in units of force per unit area. The unit is kilogram (force) per square cm (kg/cm^2)
Measured: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted24 Dec 2024
- Study startJan 2025 (estimated)
- Primary completionApr 2025 (estimated)
- Study completionMay 2025 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (2)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for Forward Head PostureStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by Cairo UniversityThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Single blind
- Who is masked
- Participant
- Enrolment
- 40 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Cairo University
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, yosra mostafa mohamed ali, Cairo University
- Investigators
- asmaa O SAYED, Study director, Cairo University
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06745960
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- forward head posture
- Other IDs
- P.T.REC/012/005173
- Status last verified
- Dec 2024
- First submitted
- 9 Dec 2024
- Last updated
- 24 Dec 2024
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- Yes
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No
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.
PubMed 38780139Titcomb 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.
PubMed 35172275