Isometric chin tuck exercise with and without scapular postural correction for patients with chronic neck pain: a longitudinal study

Background/Aims Chronic neck pain is common in individuals with poor posture and motor control impairments. There has been increased interest in scapular postural correction in conjunction with the isometric chin tuck exercise. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical efficacy of scapular postural correction while performing isometric chin tuck exercises for the improvement of neck pain, neck and shoulder alignment and superficial neck muscle activity in patients with chronic neck pain. Methods A total of 32 participants with chronic, non-specific neck pain were randomly divided into two groups (groups A and B, both n=16), who performed isometric chin tuck exercises alone or isometric chin tuck with scapular postural correction respectively. The participants were instructed to perform five sets of the exercise with 10 repetitions for 6 weeks. Measurements were taken pre- and post-intervention to determine Neck Disability Index scores, postural parameters (head, cervical and shoulder angle) and superficial cervical muscle activity (sternocleidomastoid, anterior scalene, splenius capitis). Analysis of covariance was used to compare the post-intervention scores. Results Significant differences were observed between groups A and B in the cervical angle (F-1,F-29=4.538, P=0.042) and shoulder angle (F-1,F-29=8.357, P=0.007), when compared to baseline values. Both group A (t=12.097, P<0.001) and group B (t=8.032, P<0.001) showed a significant reduction in Neck Disability Index scores compared to baseline scores. Both group A and group B showed a significant decrease in sternocleidomastoid (group A: t=6.637, P<0.001; group B: t=10.143, P<0.001), anterior scalene (group A, t=5.484, P<0.001; group B, t=8.063, P<0.001), and splenius capitis (group A, t=8.591, P<0.001; group B, t=8.258, P<0.001) muscle activity compared to baseline values. Conclusions Isometric chin tuck alone and isometric chin tuck combined with scapular postural correction both showed significant reductions in neck pain and superficial neck muscle activity. Additional scapular postural correction training significantly increased the cervical angle and decreased the shoulder angle.