THE SHORT-TERM EFFECT OF A HOME-BASED PROGRAM TO CORRECT FORWARD HEAD POSTURE IN ASYMPTOMATIC SUBJECTS

Background: Neck pain and dysfunction may be the consequence of adopting sustained non-neutral spinal postures. Such postures are associated with increased activation of the neck-shoulder stabilizer muscles, which eventually increase the loading of cervical spine. Forward head posture is a common postural dysfunction that has been associated with many musculoskeletal disorders. The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of deep cervical flexor muscles training on the severity of forward head posture in asymptomatic subjects. Methods: Forty-one asymptomatic subjects volunteered in this study. Participants were randomly assigned into an intervention group (n= 20)that received a home-based training of deep cervical flexor muscles for 6-weeks, and a control group(n= 21) that received only the assessment procedure. Subjects were assessed at baseline and 6weeks later with regards to the severity of forward head as indicated by the cranio-vertebral angle. Also, the strength and endurance of the deep flexor muscles were assessed. Results: After six weeks, participants in the intervention group showed significant improvement in all measured variables compared to the control group. Furthermore, participants in the intervention group showed significant difference in all measured variables after 6-weeks of training compared to baseline, whereas those in the control group remained the same. Conclusion: Six-weeks of deep cervical training improves forward head posture and deep flexors strength and endurance in asymptomatic subjects. Thus, this exercise could be used as a preventive measure against the development of neck dysfunction in at risk population even before the onset of any symptoms

Comparative study of the efficacy of pulsed electromagnetic field and low level laser therapy on mitogen-activated protein kinases

Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases (MAPKs) consist of three major signaling members: extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), p38 and C-JUN N-terminal kinase (JNK). We investigated physiological effects of Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Therapy (PEMFT) and Low Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) on human body, adopting the expression level of mitogen-activated protein kinases as an indicator via assessment of the activation levels of three major families of MAPKS, ERK, p38 and JNK in the peripheral lymphocytes of patients before and after the therapies. Assessment for the expression levels of MAPKs families' were done, in the peripheral lymphocytes of patients recently have appendectomy, using flow cytometric analysis of multiple signaling pathways, pre and post LLLT and PEMFT application (twice daily for 6 successive days) on the appendectomy wound. There were non-significant differences in the expression levels of MAPKs families' pre- therapies application. But there were significant increase in the ERK expression levels post application of LLLT compared to its pre application (p<0.01). Also, there was significant increase in the ERK, p38 and C-Jun N terminal expression level values post application of PEMFT compared to its pre application expression levels (p<0.01 for each). The present study demonstrates that PEMFT has a powerful healing effect more than LLLT as it increase the activation of ERK, P38 and C-Jun-N Terminal while LLLT only increase the activation of ERK. LLLT has more potent pain decreasing effect than PEMFT as it does not activate P38 pathway like PEMFT

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it was to determine wether or not there was repositioing error or not in patients with mechanical low back pai