This study investigated the effects of an 8-week Manual Therapy and Exercise Combined Program(MTECP) on middle-aged women with forward head posture syndrome. A total of 28 participants (14 per group) were recruited for the experimental group (MTECP) a...
This study investigated the effects of an 8-week Manual Therapy and Exercise Combined Program(MTECP) on middle-aged women with forward head posture syndrome. A total of 28 participants (14 per group) were recruited for the experimental group (MTECP) and control group (CG). However, excluding 5 dropouts, the final statistical analysis included 11 participants in the MTECP and 12 in the CG. The MTECP group underwent a manual therapy and exercise combined program three times weekly for 50 minutes per session over 8 weeks, while the CG received no specific intervention.
Collected data were analyzed using repeated measures two-way ANOVA to examine interaction effects between groups and time periods, as well as main effects between groups and time periods. Post-hoc analyses included independent t-tests between groups and dependent t-tests between time periods, yielding the following results
First, regarding body composition, MTECP showed a significant decrease (p<.05) in body fat percentage from 35.0±3.1% pre-test to 33.9±3.8% post-test. No statistically significant changes were observed in height, weight, or BMI, though some trends toward decrease or increase were noted. No significant changes were observed in any body composition indicators for the CG.
Second, no statistically significant changes in the CVA were observed in either the MTECP or CG groups.
Third, no statistically significant changes in the NDI were observed in either the MTECP or CG groups. However, in the MTECP group, the index decreased from 12.45±7.0 (points) pre-test to 7.55±4.3 (points) post-test, showing a clinically significant numerical change.
Fourth, the VAS showed a significant decrease (p<.001) in the MTECP group, from 4.64±2.2 pre-test to 1.18±1.3 post-test, while no significant change was observed in the CG.
The results of this study suggest that an 8-week MTECP application may be effective in reducing persent body fat and VAS in middle-aged women with forward head posture syndrome. Furthermore, considering that no significant changes were observed in subjects selected with CVA and NDI indices close to the normal range, additional research is needed on subjects with forward head posture syndrome whose values are near the normal range. It is also considered necessary to explore various treatment methods.