The Effects of an Exercise and Kinesiotape Intervention on Forward HeadRounded Shoulder Posture and Scapular Dyskinesis

Abstract

Context: Forward head and rounded shoulder posture as well as scapular dyskinesis are forms of improper posture that have been linked to neck and shoulder pain. Treatment for forward head posture (FHP), rounded shoulder posture (RSP), and scapular dyskinesis has consisted of an exercise protocol. Kinesiotape (KT) has recently been used as a treatment method but there is a lack of research on the effectiveness, or whether exercise or KT is better than the other. Objective: The objective of the study was to compare a KT intervention to a strengthening and stretching program for correction of FHP, RSP, and scapular dyskinesis in a healthy, nonathletic, college age population. Design: The study was a repeated measures pre/post-test design. Setting: The testing and interventions took place at an athletic training research lab at a DI mid-Atlantic university. Only one clinician administered the testing and interventions. Patients and Other Participants: The study included 20 healthy college students that are premajor and major athletic training students. There were 10 subjects (7 females, 3 males, 20.30±.82 yrs, 171.07±11.82 cm, 79.47±13.79 kg) in the exercise group and 10 subjects (7 females, 3 males, 20.40±1.43 yrs, 166.61±11.99 cm, 69.40±11.48 kg) in the kinesiotape group. Inclusion criteria for the study contained those subjects who were healthy with no history of upper extremity injury or surgery within six months leading up to the study and students with status as pre-major or major students in the undergraduate athletic training program and were classified as having FHP, RSP, and/or scapular dyskinesis. Exclusion criteria for the study contained those subjects currently engaged in a glenohumeral joint or cervical training program, current glenohumeral joint, neck, arm hand, or back injuries, or surgery involving the glenohumeral joint, arm, hand, back, or neck within six months of the study. Interventions: There were two intervention groups undergoing a four-week program. One group participated in a strengthening and stretching exercise protocol, while the other group had KT applied to the upper back and shoulders for a duration of five days with two days of no tape in a seven-day period. Main Outcome Measures: The dependent variables measured were forward head posture as assessed by the craniovertebral angle (CVA) in degrees, rounded shoulder posture as assessed by the forward shoulder angle (FSA) in degrees, and scapular dyskinesis as assessed using scapular dyskinesis scoring (0-3) for each scapula. Results: Negative, weak, correlations with high p-values were found between cell phone use and CVA, RSA, and scapular dyskinesis score as well as between computer use and CVA and scapular dyskinesis score, while a positive, weak correlation with a high p-value between computer use and RSA. There was no statistically significant group, time, or group x time interaction for the CVA and RSA measurements. There was a statistically significant time main effect for the scapular dyskinesis score (F=12.570, p<.01) but not...

Exercise therapy may affect scapular position and motion in individuals with scapular dyskinesis: a systematic review of clinical trials

“…There were 12 studies in which 2D techniques were used to investigate effects of exercise on scapular position and motion. 3,10,18,20,27,29,31,32,36,[38][39][40] The findings revealed that regardless of the challenging reliability of the measurement technique, most studies showed significant sources of bias. For example, Roddey et al 36 reported a significant effect of pectoralis minor stretching on TSD.…”

“…There were 8 studies among the 20 included papers in which 3D techniques were used to evaluate effects of therapeutic exercises on scapular kinematics 6,12,22,28,37,42,45,46 ; the other 12 studies used 2D techniques to record scapular motions. 3,10,18,20,27,29,31,32,36,[38][39][40] In addition, in 3D or 2D techniques, each researcher chose different devices and setups to record the scapular motion. Considering the fact that the reliability of measurements with different devices varies widely, controversy in the results of the studies seems reasonable.…”

“…The 2D scapular motion evaluation was performed in 12 studies. 3,10,18,20,27,29,31,32,36,[38][39][40] The LSST was used to measure scapular motions in 4 studies. 3,20,32,38 Three studies revealed significant effects of exercise therapy on LSST measures, 3,20,38 of which 2 studies 3,38 investigated SIS individuals, whereas Pekyavas and Ergun 32 reported no significant effect of exercise on LSST.…”