The Effect of 12-Week Corrective Exercises on the Postural Angles of Beautician Females with Upper Crossed Syndrome: a Clinical Trial Study

Background: Upper crossed syndrome (UCS) is believed to be a prevalent deformity among female beauticians. This study designed to investigate the effect of 12 weeks of corrective exercises on the postural angles, namely, forward shoulder, forward head, and kyphosis of female beauticians with UCS. Methods: In this clinical trial study, 40 females were selected through purposive sampling. This study was conducted in Tehran between September 2020 and March 2021. Photogrammetric method was employed to measure forward head and forward shoulder angles. Thoracic kyphosis angle was measured using flexible ruler. The participants were assigned to two groups employing simple randomization. The intervention group carried out corrective exercises for 12 weeks. Paired-sample t-test and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), at the significance level of p <0.05, were used for data analysis. The clinical trial registration number of this study is IRCT20180626040244N2. Results: The within group comparisons revealed significant changes in all of the postural variables (P=0.001), including forward head, forward shoulder, and thoracic kyphosis of the intervention group. The between group comparisons indicated that a 12-week corrective exercise program significantly decreased forward head (P=0.001) and shoulder (P=0.001), and thoracic kyphosis (P=0.001) angles. Conclusion: The substantial reduction in forward shoulder, forward head, and thoracic kyphosis angles after corrective exercises indicated the effectiveness of these exercises in correcting the postural abnormalities in the beautician females.