Background and Objectives: To investigate the effect of whole-body stretching (WBS) exercise during lunch break for reducing musculoskeletal pain and physical exertion among healthcare professionals. Methods: Full-time healthcare professionals working in hospitals with more than one year of experience were invited to participate. Sixty healthcare professionals (age 37.15 ± 3.9 Years, height 1.61 ± 0.04 m, body mass 67.8 ± 6.3 kg, and BMI 26.5 ± 2.1 kg/m²) participated in this single-blinded, two-arm randomized controlled trial (RCT). Participants were divided into WBS (n = 30) and control (n = 30) groups. The WBS group performed a range of stretching exercises targeting the entire body during a lunch break period for 3 times a week for 6 weeks. The control group received an education program. Musculoskeletal pain and physical exertion were assessed using the Nordic musculoskeletal questionnaire and Borg rating of perceived exertion scale, respectively. Results: The 12-month prevalence of musculoskeletal discomfort among all healthcare professionals was highest in the low back region (46.7%), followed by the neck (43.3%), and then the knee (28.3%). About 22% of participants said that their neck discomfort impacted their job, while about 18% reported that their low back pain impacted their job. Results indicate that the WBS and education program had a beneficial impact on pain and physical exertion (p < 0.001). When comparing the two groups, the WBS group experienced a significantly greater decrease in pain intensity (mean difference 3.6 vs. 2.5) and physical exertion (mean difference 5.6 vs. 4.0) compared to an education program only. Conclusions: This study suggests that doing WBS exercises during lunchtime can help lessen musculoskeletal pain and fatigue, making it easier to get through the workday.

Background: The present study was conceptualized as a pilot study to examine the effects of a 3-week program consisting of strain/counterstrain technique (SCST), phonophoresis, heat therapy, and stretching exercises on pain and functions in patients with temporomandibular dysfunction (TMD). Methods: Seven participants (mean age 25.85 years) diagnosed with TMD having pain in the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) area with decreased jaw opening were recruited for the study. Treatment interventions consisting of SCST, phonophoresis (ultrasound gel mixed with diclofenac gel), heat therapy, and stretching (mouth-opening) exercises were performed 3 days a week for 3 weeks. SCST was performed on the masseter, medial, and lateral pterygoid muscles. No control group was present in the study. Results: Paired samples t test revealed a significant difference in numerical pain rating scale (NPRS) (decreased by 50%, P < .001) and jaw functional limitation scale (JFLS) (reduced by 59.58%, P < .001) scores after 3 weeks of intervention. A large effect size (Cohen d = −3.00 for NPRS and −3.16 for JFLS) was observed for both variables. No correlation (R = 0) was found between the baseline values of NPRS and JFLS. Conclusion: A 3-week program consisting of SCST, phonophoresis, heat therapy, and stretching exercises was effective in reducing the pain and improving the functions related to TMJ in patients suffering from TMD. However, a randomized controlled trial is needed to reach a definite conclusion.

Craniovertebral angle (CVA) alteration is a causative factor for the neck, shoulder, and temporomandibular joints disorders. Therefore, as an outcome measure for therapeutic intervention, measuring the craniovertebral angle with the Surgimap smartphone app is a cost-effective, easily accessible, and reliable tool. This study's objective was to assess the clinimetric properties of the Surgimap smartphone application with Surgimap system software to measure the Craniovertebral Angle in different age groups and positions. Ninety subjects with neck pain were randomly allocated to aged between 18 and 30 years (Group A; n = 45) and 45–60 years (Group B; n = 45). Using the Surgimap smartphone application and Surgimap system software, the craniovertebral angle was measured objectively in the sagittal plane. Intraclass correlation coefficients were used to determine validity and reliability. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and the area under the curves (AUC) were determined to distinguish participants with and without forward head posture. The result of this study shows that Smartphone Surgimap Application and Surgimap System Software correlate 0.95 and have p-values of 0.01 for diverse positions and ages. CVA measurement in the sitting position was significantly lower than in the standing position, regardless of methodology or age. Both positions demonstrated high intra-rater reliability, as evidenced by Intraclass Correlation Coefficients (ICC) between 0.972 and 0.991. The minimum detectable change (MDC) values ranged from 1.3 to 1.733, indicating high measurement accuracy. The smartphone application demonstrated outstanding diagnostic sensitivity (100.00% for Group A standing) and specificity (93.55% for Group B standing). The Surgimap smartphone application is a reliable and accurate method for craniovertebral angle measurement and is useful for measuring outcomes. Also standing posture was found to be better than sitting posture while measuring the CVA.

Purpose: Neck pain is a prevalent musculoskeletal issue among bike drivers, often resulting from extended static postures, repetitive head movements, and exposure to vibrations. This study aims to assess the connection between cervical ROM, neck proprioception, CVA, and QOL in bike drivers with neck pain compared to those without neck pain so that the targeted interventions can be developed to enhance their well-being. Methods: A cross-sectional study involving 100 bike drivers aged 20– 50 years was conducted, split into two groups: those with neck pain (n=50) and those without neck pain (n=50). Cervical ROM was measured using a smartphone, neck proprioception was assessed through a head repositioning test, and CVA was determined using lateral-view photographs with a plumb line. The Short Form-36 (SF-36) questionnaire was employed to evaluate QOL. Data analysis was conducted using independent t-tests and Pearson’s correlation coefficient. Results: Bike drivers with neck pain exhibited significantly reduced cervical ROM (p-value=< 0.001), impaired neck proprioception (p-value=< 0.001), and decreased CVA (p-value=< 0.001) compared to their counterparts without neck pain. A strong negative correlation was found between neck pain and QOL, with lower scores in all eight domains of the SF-36. Cervical ROM, neck proprioception, and CVA showed moderate correlations with various QOL domains (p-value=< 0.05). Conclusion: Neck pain in bike drivers is linked to decrease cervical ROM, compromised neck proprioception, and reduced CVA. These factors correlate with a lower quality of life, both physical and mental domains. Interventions addressing these aspects may enhance the quality of life for bike drivers experiencing neck pain.

Background: Chronic back pains are progressively disabling working individuals, including 60–80% of the general population, for which their diagnosis is challenging to healthcare workers worldwide, thereby becoming a burden to nations. Purpose: The study aimed to investigate the efficacy of core strengthening exercise (CSE) and intensive dynamic back exercise (IDBE) on pain, core muscle endurance, and functional disability in patients with chronic non-specific low back pain (LBP). Methods: The study was based on a three-arm parallel-group randomized control design. Forty-five participants with chronic non-specific LBP were recruited and randomly divided into the CSE, IDBE, and Control groups. The CSE and IDBE groups received CSE and IDBE, respectively. However, the Control group received no intervention. Numeric pain rating scale, Oswestry Disability Index, core flexors, extensors, and side bridge tests assessed pain intensity, functional disability, and endurance of core muscles. Outcome scores for the dependent variables were collected at baseline (pre-intervention) and six-week post-intervention. There were no follow-up measurements in this study. A one-way multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) was used to analyze the intervention effects on the outcomes within groups and between groups, respectively; keeping the significance-level alpha at 95%, i.e., p < 0.05. A univariate F-test was performed to observe the superiority of one treatment over another. Pearson’s correlation coefficient test was conducted to determine a relation between the dependent variables. In all statistical analyses, the level of significance α was kept at 0.05. Results: All forty-five out of sixty-three participants with chronic non-specific low back pain (male, 32 and female, 23; average age, 20.24 ± 1.46 years; average pain duration, 19.6 ± 5.42 weeks) completed the study and their data were analyzed. The MANCOVA test showed a significant difference between the treatment groups on the combined multiple endurance tests for the core muscles (flexors, extensors, side bridge tests to the right and left), Visual Analog Scale (VAS), and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) scores after controlling for baseline scores of all the dependent variables: F (6, 12) = 23.381; p < 0.05; Wilks’ Λ = 0.033; partial η² = 0.819. A post hoc pair-wise comparison followed by a univariate F-test indicated that a significant improvement was found between the CSE vs. IDBE vs. Control groups on the post-test scores of all the dependent variables except VAS and EET (CSE vs. IDBE only). A Pearson’s correlation coefficient test revealed a notable relation between the dependent variables. Conclusions: The experimental group CSE was found to be more effective than IDBE on improving functional disability, cores’ flexors, and side bridges’ endurance tests than IDBE. The magnitude of this improvement exceeded the minimal clinically important difference (MCID), suggesting a clinically relevant enhancement in functional disability, core flexors, and side bridge endurance for participants engaged in CSE. However, CSE vs. IDBE revealed non-significant differences on reducing pain and core extensors’ endurance. The absence of statistically significant differences suggests that the observed changes did not exceed the established MCID for pain intensity and core extensors’ endurance. In addition, partial eta-squared value revealed the superiority of CSE over IDBE and Control groups. This suggests that the observed differences between the two interventions are not only statistically significant, but also clinically relevant, surpassing the established MCID.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate and compare the prevalence of Forward Head Posture (FHP) in car and bike drivers, and its potential correlation with neck and cardiopulmonary parameters. Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 400 participants from urban and suburban areas around Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India, including 200 car drivers and 200 bike drivers aged 18–65 years with a minimum five-year driving history. Neck health was assessed using measurements such as cervical range of motion and Neck Disability Index (NDI), cardiopulmonary parameters were evaluated through resting heart rate, blood pressure, and pulmonary function tests using the spirometry test, and FHP was assessed using Surgimap application. Statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics software (version 26.0) and included descriptive statistics, hypothesis testing, Chi-square or Fisher’s exact test for binary data, and correlation analyses. Results: The result show that difference in the mean FHP between car and bike drivers was statistically significant (p = 0.0001), indicating a higher prevalence of FHP among car drivers than among bike drivers. Correlation analyses revealed significant associations between FHP and neck health metrics, especially cervical flexion (r = 0.71, p<0.05), (r = 0.78, p<0.05) and left-side rotation (r = 0.56, p<0.05), (r = 0.61, p<0.05) in car and bike drivers. Among the cardiopulmonary parameters, significant correlations with FHP were observed in resting heart rate (r = 0.33, p<0.05), (r = 0.42, p<0.05), spirometry results FVC (r = 0.29, p<0.05), FEV1 (r = 0.22, p<0.05), and FVC (r = 0.31, p<0.05) for car and bike drivers. Conclusion: We observed a higher incidence of FHP in car drivers, indicating that a prolonged static posture may lead to greater postural deviation than dynamic movement during biking. This association suggests that FHP could have wide-reaching implications for systemic health, beyond musculoskeletal issues. These findings have the potential to influence preventative strategies and interventions aimed at improving the overall health outcomes for drivers.