Postural Alignment Exercise Mobile App for Cervical and Thoracic Spine Regions

A Mobile App for Postural Alignment Exercises in Cervical and Thoracic Spine Regions: Design, Development, Usability and Randomized Controlled Pilot Study

Postural alignment in the cervical and thoracic regions is affected by various risks such as smartphone use in particular young adults. The small screen of smartphones causes ergonomic risk for posture and musculoskeletal system. Previous studies found that neck, shoulder, and upper back pain associated with the overuse of smartphones. Neck pain often arises from unideal postures. Participants should be informed about these risks and encouraged to exercise to be protective. Digital health apps' use is rising by the day and health apps offer opportunities for both healthcare professionals and users.

Therefore, this study aimed to develop an app including preventive exercise interventions to keep postural alignment in cervical and thoracic spine regions employing an iterative, user-centred design and to test the usability of the app and evaluate its effectiveness with a pilot randomized controlled trial

Inclusion Criteria:

• to be a university student aged 18-25, to be a smartphone user for more than 3 years with more than three hours daily use.

Exclusion Criteria:

• if they had any chronic health problems (rheumatic, orthopedic, neurological, cardiopulmonary, vestibular system), any trauma in the neck/upper back/upper limb region in the last six months, had a congenital deformity, had received another treatment or having surgery in last one year.