3.1. Design and setting
Design: cross-sectional study.
Setting: Hospital and general community.
3.2. Participants
A total of 19 patients aged 20 to 28ans and 17 pain-free participants were assessed for eligibility. From them, 2 patients were excluded because they did not come for the second assessment after home exercises. A total of 34participants entered the study: 17 patients with chronic NP of nontraumatic origin as their main presenting complaint and 17 pain-free participants. Patients were consecutively recruited from hospital and most of them are student presenting complaint of neck pain more than six months. Control participants were recruited from the general Population.
3.3. Inclusion and exclusion Criteria …show more content…
Painfree participants had no current history of neck pain. 3.3.2. Exclusion Criteria[36],[37],[38]
It has been suggested that head posture could be influenced by some conditions affecting the respiratory, the auditory, the visual, the neurologic, and the musculoskeletal systems.
Thus, participants were excluded if they reported any of the following conditions:
1. A history of cervical or facial trauma or shoulder surgery, cervical and thoracic fractures;
2. Congenital anomalies involving the spine (cervical, thoracic, lumbar region);
3. Bony abnormalities such as scoliosis;
4. Any systemic arthritis;
5. Persistent respiratory difficulties over the last 5 years that had necessitated absence from work, required long-term medication, or interfered with daily activities;
6. Any disorder of the central nervous system;
7. Pregnancy or breast-feeding;
8. Recurrent middle ear infections over the last 5 years or any hearing impairment requiring the use of a hearing aid;
9. Any visual impairment not corrected by glasses Patient refused to be enrolled in the research study was excluded.
3.4. Experimental Procedures
Stage I: GPS (Compare cervical posture between subjects with Neck Pain and without Neck