Comparison of the Effect and Follow-up of Eight-Week Corrective Exercises With and Without the Myofascial Release on Forward Head and Forward Shoulder Deformity

The purpose of the present research was to compare the effect and follow up of eight-week corrective exercises with and without the myofascial release forward head and forward shoulder deformity in young adults.

A total of 45 male students suffering from abnormal forward head more than 46° and forward shoulder more than 52° deformity with the Mean±SD age of 22.12±2.88 years, height of 175.44±6.80 cm, and weight of 71.21±7.31 kg were selected and randomly distributed in three groups: corrective exercises, combinational exercises (corrective and myofascial release), and control. These groups performed the exercises for eight weeks under the direct observation of the researcher. Prior to starting the exercises, after the end of eighth week, and four weeks after the end of the exercises, the angles of the forward head and forward shoulder of the participants were measured using a photography method. Then, the collected data was analyzed using the variance analysis tests with repeated measurements and ANCOVA.

The results showed that the degree of forward head and forward shoulder after eight weeks of exercises in both training groups in post-test and follow-up test was significantly lower than those of the pretest. The ANCOVA test results also demonstrated that the forward shoulder degree in corrective exercises group with myofascial release in post-test and follow-up test was significantly lower than that of the corrective exercises (P≤0.05). However, the forward head degree did not show a significant difference between the intervention groups in post-test and follow-up tests (P≥0.05).

According to the results, it can be stated that the corrective exercises program with myofascial release is more effective than the corrective exercises in correcting the forward shoulder deformity.