The Effect of a NASM-Based Training Protocol on Upper Cross Syndrome in Paraplegia Spinalcord Injury Patients

Muscle imbalance of the upper quadrant of the body is one of the problems in paraplegia spinal cord injury (SCI) patients using wheelchair. This increases the risk of developing deformities and exposes the person to upper cross syndrome (UCS). The use of NASM-based corrective exercises is one of the new ways of restoring muscle balance for preventing and correcting deformities. The aim of this study was investigating the effect of NASM-based training protocol on UCS in paraplegia SCI patients. 22 male paraplegic spinal cord injury patients with forward head, round shoulder, and kyphosis deformities were selected and divided into two groups of training(n:12, age:38.68±9.81) and control(n:10, age:40.40±7.33). Training group performed NASM-based exercises for 12 weeks. Goniometer, double square, and flexible ruler were used to measure forward head, round shoulder, and kyphosis, respectively. The statistical analysis of variance for repeated data at the significance level of (P <0.05) was used to analyze the data. Forward head, round shoulder, and kyphosis deformities had significant improvements in training group in comparison to control group from pre to post test(P <0.05). It is suggested that people with SCI who spend a lot of hours on the wheelchair should modify the position of the nose using the proposed NASM-based training exercises in this study on a regular basis in order to prevent muscle imbalance and developing the deformities in the upper quadrant of the body.