The Wearable Postural Feedback Devices Combined With Exercise in Office Workers With Chronic Neck Pain

NCT06455774 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 2024/06
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 52
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to investigate the effects of wearable postural feedback devices added to exercise approach on neck pain and proprioception in office workers with nonspecific chronic neck pain. H0: The effects of wearable postural feedback devices added to exercise and exercise approach on neck pain and proprioception are similar in office workers with nonspecific chronic neck pain. H1: The effects of wearable postural feedback devices added to exercise and exercise approach on neck pain and proprioception are different in office workers with nonspecific chronic neck pain. 58 office workers aged 25-55 years with nonspecific chronic neck pain will be included and divided into 2 groups, physiotherapy programs will be applied for 8 weeks, 3 days a week. All participants will be trained on office ergonomics and proper sitting posture at the beginning of the study. Group 1: Exercise and Postural feedback, Group 2: Exercise. Sociodemographic information will be questioned, pain, neck proprioception, craniovertebral angle, neck muscle strength, endurance and range of motion will be assessed. Neck disability index, physical activity level, stress perception level, fatigue level, work performance and patient satisfaction will also be evaluated at baseline and 8 weeks.

Conditions

Neck Pain

Keywords

cervical pain; posture; exercise; vibrotactile; feedback

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Neck Pain

  Neck pain will be assessed using the Numeric Pain Rating Scale. The patient is asked to rate the severity of pain out of 10. The patient chooses the appropriate value between 0; no pain and 10; the worst pain felt. The Neck Pain Numeric Pain Rating Scale has been reported as a valid and reliable method in patients with neck pain.

  8 week

• Proprioception

  Neck proprioception will be assessed with the Cervical Joint Position Error Test. Participants will be asked to sit in a chair placed 90 cm from the wall and hold their head in a relaxed neutral position while facing the wall in front of them. A laser pointer will be attached to his/her head with an elastic strap. The laser light on the wall will be marked as the reference point and the participant will then be asked to perform active neck movements (flexion, extension, rotation) and then align the laser light to the reference point with eyes open. He/she will then be asked to repeat the same process with eyes closed and when he/she brings his/her head to the reference point, the new point on the wall will be marked as the target point. The joint position error will be found by measuring the distance between the target and the reference point in cm. Each procedure will be performed 3 times and average values will be taken.

  8 week

Secondary Outcomes (11)

• Pressure Pain Threshold

  8 weeks

• Craniovertebral Angle

  8 weeks

• Neck Disability Index:

  8 weeks

• Muscle strength

  8 weeks

• Range of motion

  8 weeks

Study Arms (2)

Group1- Exercise and Wearable Postural Feedback Devices Group

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants will wear the postural feedback device for 8 weeks, 3 days a week during their desk work (6-8 hours) and will be included in an exercise program including 30 minutes of stretching and strengthening exercises for the cervical region. Exercises will be performed 3 days a week for 30 minutes and will be supervised by a physiotherapist one day a week.

Device: Wearable Postural Feedback Device; Other: Exercise

Group2- Exercise Group

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants will receive an exercise program consisting of stretching and strengthening exercises for the cervical region. Exercises will be performed 3 days a week for 30 minutes and will be supervised by a physiotherapist one day a week. Patients will be followed up with an exercise diary.

Other: Exercise

Interventions

Wearable Postural Feedback Device DEVICE

The postural feedback wearable device we will use in the study is programmed to vibrate when hunched postures are detected (based on changes in the curvature and curvature of the spine), alerting users to changes in their body position.

Group1- Exercise and Wearable Postural Feedback Devices Group

Exercise OTHER

Trapezius, Sternocleidomastoid (SCM), Scalene, pectoral muscles will be targeted for stretching exercises and deep neck flexors, Trapezius, Levator Scapula, Rhomboids will be targeted for strengthening exercises. The intensity of the exercises will be increased according to the weeks. Stretching exercises will be performed as a single set at the pain limit, maintaining the position of the muscle groups in the longest tolerable position for 30 seconds. In strengthening exercises, participants will hold the position for 5-10 seconds at the end of the movement. Moderate resistance elastic bands and free weights will be used for resistance exercises. In the following weeks, progression will be made in all exercises according to the patient's condition.

Group1- Exercise and Wearable Postural Feedback Devices Group; Group2- Exercise Group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 25 Years - 55 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Complained of neck pain during work for at least 3 months,
• Neck pain severity of 3 and above according to the Numerical Pain Rating Scale,
• Office worker between the ages of 25-55,
• Full-time and regular desk worker for the last 3 years,
• Participants who use a computer at a desk for at least 3 hours a day will be included.

You may not qualify if:

• Having neurological and rheumatologic chronic diseases,
• Receiving physical therapy in the last 6 months
• History of trauma to the upper extremities and spine,
• Having diagnoses such as thoracic outlet, cervical rib, vertebrobasilar artery insufficiency,
• History of cervical spine surgery,
• Having suffered a whiplash injury,
• Diagnosed cervical disc and spine pathologies (such as radiculopathy, myelopathy, fracture, infection, tumor, inflammatory diseases, osteoporosis)

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Istanbul University - Cerrahpasa: lead

Study Sites (1)

Istanbul University- Cerrahpasa

Istanbul, Turkey (Türkiye)

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Neck Pain; Motor Activity

Interventions

Exercise

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Pain; Neurologic Manifestations; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Behavior

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Motor Activity; Movement; Musculoskeletal Physiological Phenomena; Musculoskeletal and Neural Physiological Phenomena

Study Officials

• Gökşen Kuran Aslan, Prof

  Istanbul University - Cerrahpasa

  STUDY DIRECTOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: MSc, PhD Student

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: June 7, 2024
• First Posted: June 12, 2024
• Study Start: November 1, 2024
• Primary Completion: November 30, 2025
• Study Completion: November 30, 2025
• Last Updated: April 2, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-03

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

TU (1)