Objectives: In recent years, the use of smartphones has impacted people's lifestyles and contributed to postural abnormalities, particularly in the spine. Therefore, the present study aimed to study the effect of six weeks of corrective exercises on proprioception, head and shoulder posture, and neck muscle strength in male students who use mobile phones.
Methods: The present study employed a quasi-experimental design with a pretest-posttest approach and a control group. The statistical population consisted of 34 students (mean age 15.34) from Razan, Iran, who were randomly assigned to two groups of 17 each (experimental and control). The experimental group's exercise program lasted 6 weeks, consisting of 3 sessions per week (totaling 18) and lasting 1 hour each. During this period, the control group did not receive any exercise. Before and after the intervention, head forward was measured using imaging; neck muscle strength was assessed with a dynamometer; neck proprioception was evaluated with a laser pointer; and shoulder protrusion was measured with a graduated ruler. The data were analyzed using both correlated and independent t-tests in SPSS.
Results: According to the findings, head forward (P=0.001), shoulder forward (P=0.001), neck muscle strength (P=0.001), and neck proprioception (P=0.001) improved in the experimental group after implementing the training protocol. However, no significant improvement was observed in the control group (P=0.425).
Conclusion: The study demonstrated that the corrective exercise intervention was successful in improving proprioception, head and shoulder posture, and neck muscle strength in male students who used mobile phones. Given the high effect size reported for corrective exercises, it is recommended that this exercise program be utilized to enhance these variables.
