The Effect of Stabilization Exercises on Pain, Posture, and Sleep in Office Workers With Neck Pain

NCT ID: NCT06731816

Last Updated: 2025-09-15

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 30 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2025-03-01
• Study Completion Date: 2025-12-30

Brief Summary

With this study that will be examined the effects of stabilization exercises applied in addition to neck exercises on neck pain, posture and sleep quality in office workers with neck pain.

Detailed Description

Today, technological devices play a significant role in both professional and personal aspects of our lives. While computer use in office workers increases work productivity, it also brings about certain health risks by affecting posture and the musculoskeletal system. During screen use, the repetitive and prolonged forward movement of the head and arms results in a kyphotic posture and an increased neck flexion angle, which causes pain in the cervical region. When the head is in a neutral position, the amount of load carried by the cervical region is estimated to be around 4.5-5.5 kg, whereas with a 15° neck flexion, this load increases to 12.25 kg, and with a 30° flexion angle, it reaches approximately 13.61 kg. Increased flexion angles in the cervical region lead to an increase in mechanical stress on ligaments, tendons, muscles, and bones, and this stress poses a potential risk for the development of arthritis, disc degeneration, and headaches.

Musculoskeletal disorders caused by these symptoms are believed to reduce work productivity and lead to employees taking breaks from their tasks. Prolonged use of smartphones or computers is associated with increased anxiety and stress levels, as well as sleep problems. Pilates has become an increasingly popular form of exercise in the rehabilitation field in recent years. Joseph Pilates referred to the core region as the "powerhouse" and considered core control to be a fundamental component of body movement. According to Pilates, learning to properly engage the core muscles improves movement quality, enhances posture, and provides better stabilization. Exercises targeting the deep stabilizing muscles strengthen the torso, correct posture, and improve balance.

Pilates training plays a role in increasing strength and endurance, restoring normal proprioceptive mechanisms, and maintaining flexibility. For this reason, it is recommended in both preventive and therapeutic exercise programs. The aim of this study is to create two different exercise programs for office workers with neck pain and to investigate the effects of stabilization exercises, applied in addition to neck exercises, on neck pain, posture, and sleep quality.

Conditions

Neck Pain; Neck Pain Treatment

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Study Groups

Neck and stabilization exercise group

In addition to neck stretching, range of motion, and isometric exercises, spinal stabilization exercises will be applied.

Group Type: ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Neck and stabilization exercise group

Intervention Type: OTHER

Participants in this group will attend 2 sessions per week for 8 weeks, for a total of 16 sessions. In addition to neck stretching, range of motion, and isometric exercises applied in the neck exercise group, they will also apply spinal and cervical region stabilization exercises.

Neck exercise group

Neck stretching, range of motion, and isometric exercises will be applied.

Group Type: ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Neck exercise group

Intervention Type: OTHER

Participants in this group will attend 2 sessions per week for 8 weeks, for a total of 16 sessions. They will perform neck stretching, range of motion and isometric exercises.

Interventions

Neck and stabilization exercise group

Participants in this group will attend 2 sessions per week for 8 weeks, for a total of 16 sessions. In addition to neck stretching, range of motion, and isometric exercises applied in the neck exercise group, they will also apply spinal and cervical region stabilization exercises.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Neck exercise group

Participants in this group will attend 2 sessions per week for 8 weeks, for a total of 16 sessions. They will perform neck stretching, range of motion and isometric exercises.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Volunteering to participate in the study and approving the informed consent form,
• Using a computer, tablet and/or phone for more than 3 hours per day for the last 6 months,
• Having recurrent or persistent pain in the neck region for at least 3 months,
• Having a Neck Disability Scale score of 15 points or higher,
• Having a VAS Pain score of 5 or higher.

Exclusion Criteria

• Having a neurological diagnosis,
• Having a radiologically confirmed orthopedic diagnosis from the neck region (neck hernia, fracture, dislocation, spondylolisthesis),
• Having a systemic and chronic disease diagnosis that can affect the neck region and joints,
• Having a history of surgical intervention or trauma from the neck region,
• Having cognitive impairment that makes communication and evaluation difficult.

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 45 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

Lokman Hekim University

OTHER_GOV

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Seda BAKTIR

Assist. Prof

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Z.Seda Baktir Dogan Assist Profesor, Doctorate

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Lokman Hekim University

Locations

Lokman Hekim University Health Sciences Institute

Ankara, Çankaya/Sögütözü, Turkey (Türkiye)

Countries

Turkey (Türkiye)

Other Identifiers

LHU-FTR-ZSBD-02

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id