Pilates mat versus cervical stabilization exercises on the craniovertebral angle, pain, function, and myoelectrical activity of the cervical muscles in forward head posture: a randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Introduction One of the most prevalent postural problems involving the neck is called forward head posture (FHP), which is defined as the anterior head protruding from the sagittal plane and appearing to be positioned in front of the body. The incidence of FHP is 70% in young adults. This study aimed to compare Pilates mat versus cervical stabilization exercises on the craniovertebral angle (CVA), pain, function, and myoelectric activity of the upper trapezius (UT) and sternocleidomastoid (SCM) muscles in patients with FHP. Also, both experimental groups were compared to the control group in terms of CVA, pain, function, and myoelectric activity of the UT and SCM muscles. Methods Sixty participants (18 to 25 years old) with symptomatic FHP were randomly assigned to three groups using an opaque sealed envelope; Pilates mat and postural correction exercises were assigned group A, cervical stabilization and postural correction exercises were assigned group B, and solely postural correction exercises were assigned group C for 12 weeks at a frequency of 3 times/week. The patients were assessed before and after 12 weeks of interventions. The photogrammetric method was used to determine CVA, the visual analog scale (VAS) for pain intensity, the Arabic neck disability index (ANDI ) for neck function, and surface electromyography (sEMG) for the UT and SCM muscle root mean square during rest and activity. Results Multiple pairwise comparisons revealed statistically significant differences between pre and post-treatments for all variables in the Pilates, cervical stabilization, and control groups with a p < 0.05. Between groups, analyses showed that there were statistically significant differences ( p < 0.05) at post-treatment between the Pilates and cervical stabilization groups and also between Pilates and the control, and finally between the cervical stabilization and control groups with more favor to the Pilates group. Conclusions Pilates mat and cervical stabilization exercises are both effective interventions for FHP, with Pilates mat exercises being superior.

Keywords

• pilates mat
• cervical stabilization
• postural correction exercises
• foreword head posture
• muscle amplitude