Effects Of An Exercise And Kinesiotape Intervention On Forward Head/Rounded Shoulder And Scapular Dyskinesis

Abstract

Improper posture including forward head, rounded shoulder and scapular dyskinesis have been linked to neck and shoulder pain. Treatment for forward head posture (FHP), rounded shoulder posture (RSP), and scapular dyskinesis has consisted of an exercise protocol. Kinesiotape (KT) has recently emerged as a treatment method but there is a lack of research on the effectiveness, or whether exercise or KT is better than the other. PURPOSE: To compare a KT intervention to a strengthening and stretching program for correction of FHP, RSP, and scapular dyskinesis in a healthy, non-athletic, college age population. METHODS: Twenty healthy college-aged subjects with forward head, rounded shoulder posture and scapular dyskinesis completed the study. There were 10 subjects (7 females, 3 males, 20.30±.82 yr, ht=171.07±11.82 cm, wt=79.47±13.79 kg) in the exercise group and 10 subjects (7 females, 3 males, 20.40±1.43 yr, ht=166.61±11.99 cm, wt=69.40±11.48 kg) in the KT group. Subjects were randomized into two intervention groups undergoing a four-week program. One group participated in a strengthening and stretching exercise protocol (EG) based on the current literature, while the other group had KT applied to the upper back and shoulders for a duration of five days with two days of no tape in a seven-day period. Pre-and post-test measurements included the craniovertebral angle (CVA) in degrees, forward shoulder angle (FSA) in degrees, and scapular dyskinesis as assessed using scapular dyskinesis scoring (0-3, maximum combined score = 6) for each scapula. RESULTS: There was a significant time main effect for the scapular dyskinesis score (SDS) as both groups improved pre-to-post intervention (F=12.5, P<.01; EG=4.8±1.14 vs 5.3±.949, KT=4.10±1.59 vs 4.9±1.01). Time effect sizes were small to moderate for CVA (KT=.13 to EG=.53), RSA (EG=.15 to KT= -.46) and SDS (EG=.44 to KT=.50) in both groups. Group effect sizes were small for CVA (0.24), RSA (0.25) and SDS (0.36). Minimal-detectable-change-scores were achieved for the CVA (EG=3.90, KT=.80) and SDS (EG=.50, KT=.80) for both groups, indicating clinical improvement. No other results were significant. CONCLUSIONS: Both groups improved pre-to-post intervention for the three measurements, even though only SDS was significant. Thus, either treatment could be used.