Acute Effects of Rigid Taping on Spinal Alignment, Tragus Angle, Balance in Office Workers: A Spinal Mouse Assessment
试验速览
- 阶段
- 不适用
- 状态
- 尚未招募
- 入组人数
- 30
- 试验地点
- 1
- 主要终点
- Change in Craniovertebral (Tragus) Angle
研究概览
简要总结
This study looks at whether applying a rigid tape to the upper back can immediately improve posture and balance in people who spend long hours sitting at a desk. Thirty office workers will have their head and neck position, spinal posture, and standing balance measured, then the tape will be applied to gently support the upper back and shoulders in a more upright position. The same measurements will be repeated 15 minutes later, while the tape is still in place. The tape is a flexible, skin-safe material commonly used in sports and physical therapy; it contains no medication and is not expected to cause discomfort or side effects. By comparing the measurements taken before and after taping, the researchers hope to learn whether this simple, non-invasive technique can produce an immediate improvement in head and spinal alignment and in balance control. This study looks only at short-term (acute) effects and does not test whether the benefits, if any, last beyond the taping session. The results may help patients and health care providers understand whether taping could serve as a quick, low-risk tool to support better posture during long periods of desk work.
详细描述
Prolonged sitting and forward-leaning postures during desk-based office work are commonly associated with increased thoracic kyphosis, forward head posture, and reduced postural control. Rigid taping applied to the thoracic region has been proposed as a low-cost, non-invasive method to provide passive postural correction and proprioceptive feedback, but its immediate (acute) effects in office-working populations have not been fully characterized.
This study uses a single-group, pre-post (within-subject) design to evaluate the acute effects of rigid thoracic postural correction taping in office workers. Baseline assessments of craniovertebral alignment, sagittal spinal posture, and standing balance will be obtained, after which rigid tape will be applied by a trained examiner along a standardized pattern over the thoracic spine and shoulder girdle to passively encourage scapular retraction, thoracic extension, and reduced forward head positioning. All baseline measurements will be repeated after a 15-minute period with the tape in place, allowing evaluation of the immediate biomechanical response to the intervention.
The primary hypothesis is that rigid thoracic taping will acutely improve craniovertebral alignment and selected spinal alignment parameters, and may additionally improve dynamic balance. Findings are intended to inform whether rigid taping may serve as a practical, low-risk adjunct for immediate postural support in individuals with prolonged sedentary, desk-based occupational exposure.
研究设计
- 研究类型
- Interventional
- 分配方式
- Na
- 干预模型
- Single Group
- 主要目的
- Treatment
- 盲法
- None
入排标准
- 年龄范围
- 18 Years 至 45 Years（Adult）
- 性别
- All
- 接受健康志愿者
- 是
入选标准
- •be an individual who works at least 6 hours a day at a desk
- •not having had any musculoskeletal disorders or orthopedic surgery in the last 6 months
- •not use any postural support
排除标准
- •having been diagnosed with chronic pain or postural deformity in the lower back, upper back, or neck region
- •having structural spinal disorders such as scoliosis, kyphosis, or lordosis
- •having undergone physical therapy or manual therapy within the last 3 months
- •having previously undergone rigid taping
- •pregnancy
研究组 & 干预措施
Rigid taping
Participants in this single-arm study receive rigid thoracic postural correction taping applied by a trained examiner along a standardized pattern over the thoracic spine and shoulder girdle to passively encourage scapular retraction, thoracic extension, and reduced forward head positioning. Outcome measures (craniovertebral angle, spinal alignment, and standing balance) are assessed at baseline (pre-taping) and again after 15 minutes with the tape in place (post-taping), with each participant serving as their own control.
干预措施: Rigid taping (Other)
结局指标
主要结局
Change in Craniovertebral (Tragus) Angle
时间窗: Baseline and 15 minutes after tape application
Craniovertebral alignment will be assessed using the tragus angle, a validated proxy for forward head posture. An increase in the tragus angle indicates a more neutral (less forward) head position.
Change in Sagittal Spinal Alignment
时间窗: Baseline and 15 minutes after tape application
Spinal alignment will be assessed non-invasively using the SpinalMouse device in neutral standing, maximal flexion, and maximal extension postures, yielding segmental angles (sacral/hip, thoracic, lumbar, and inclination).
次要结局
- Change in Static and Dynamic Postural Balance(Baseline and 15 minutes after tape application)
研究者
Erhan KIZMAZ
Assistant professor
University of Gaziantep