Comprehensive corrective exercise program improves alignment, muscle activation and movement pattern of men with upper crossed syndrome: randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Upper crossed syndrome (UCS) refers to the altered muscle activations and movement patterns in scapulae along with some abnormal alignment in the upper quarter, which may contribute to the dysfunction of the cervicothoracic and glenohumeral joints. The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of a comprehensive corrective exercise program (CCEP) and subsequent detraining on alignment, muscle activation, and movement pattern in men with the UCS. This randomized controlled trial included 24 men. The intervention group conducted CCEP (8 weeks), followed by four weeks of detraining and the control group maintained normal daily activities. Electromyography of selected muscles, scapular dyskinesis test, head, shoulder, and thoracic spine angle were measured at baseline, post-test, and follow-up. There were significant differences for Group x time interaction and also for within-group from pre-test to post-test and follow-up in all outcomes. Also, significant differences were observed in three outcomes at post-test and follow-up between the CCEP and control group in favor of the CCEP. In Conclusion, the present study demonstrates that the CCEP for individuals with UCS is feasible and effective, improving muscle activation imbalance, movement patterns, and alignment. Importantly, these improvements were maintained after four weeks of detraining, suggesting lasting neuromuscular re-training adaptations.

Figure 1

The results of MCID in the CCEP group.

Figure 2

Study flowchart.

Figure 3

The initial phase exercises: lay supine on the foam roll in three different arm abduction angles (exercise 1A-C), side-lying external rotation (exercise 2), side-lying forward flexion (exercise 3), standing diagonal flexion (exercise 4), and military press (exercise 5). Improvement phase exercises: side-lying external rotation with dumbbell (exercise 6), side-lying forward flexion with dumbbell (exercise 7), standing diagonal flexion with dumbbell (exercise 8), standing external rotation with Thera-band (exercise 9), standing diagonal flexion with Thera-band (exercise 10), abduction in sitting on a training ball (exercise 11), lying prone V, T, and W exercises (exercise 12), and abduction in standing on the balance board (exercise 13).