A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF FIGURE OF EIGHT SCAPULAR BRACE AND SCAPULAR STABILIZATION EXERCISES FOR FORWARD HEAD ROUNDED SHOULDER POSTURE (FHRSP) IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC NECK PAIN

Background: Forward head posture is one of the most common cervical abnormalities that leads to neck pain. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of scapular stabilization exercises versus scapular brace on neck posture, pain, and quality of life in individuals with forward head posture. Method: 30 subjects (21 males & 9 female) with chronic neck pain were included as per inclusion criteria neck pain > 6 months, Shoulder girdle flexibility test [ fingertips > 2 inches (5cm) apart]. Subjects with h/o polytrauma, psychiatry illness and pregnant women were excluded. Participants were randomly allocated to two groups: experimental group (n=15), treated with, figure of eight scapular brace and scapular stabilization exercise and control group (n=15) group, received only scapular stabilization exercises. The subjects in intervention group were instructed to wear the brace minimum six hours in a day with 30 minutes in continuation. Pain, NDI score, forward head & forward shoulder angle were measured before and after six weeks exercise program. Result: The brace along with scapular stabilization exercises decreased NDI score significantly (27.00% (95% C.I. 22.66%, 31.34%) in experimental than control 33.13% (95% C.I. 28.56%, 37.71%) group. The change in VAS scores after intervention were greater in the experimental (2.53,95% C.I. 2.12 to 2.94) as compared to the control group (2.07, 95% C.I. 1.74 to 2.40). Conclusion: The application of figure of eight scapular brace along with scapular stabilization exercises improved shoulder posture and scapular stability with reduction in pain in patients with chronic neck pain.