Scapular Muscle Strengthening Combined With Core Stabilization Exercises in Telephone Operators With Neck Pain

University of Lahore

Status: Not yet enrolling

Conditions: Work-related Neck Pain

Treatments: Other: Conventional Neck Exercise Program; Other: Scapular Muscle Strengthening Combined with Core Stabilization Exercises

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT07480772

Umama Jabbar

Details and patient eligibility

About

Scapular muscle strengthening combined with core stabilization exercises is an effective intervention for reducing neck pain in telephone operators. Prolonged sitting, forward head posture, and repetitive upper-limb use in this population often lead to scapular dyskinesis and poor trunk control, increasing cervical spine stress. Strengthening the scapular stabilizers (such as the middle and lower trapezius and serratus anterior) improves shoulder girdle alignment and reduces overload on cervical muscles. When combined with core stabilization exercises, which enhance trunk stability and postural control, overall biomechanical efficiency is improved. This combined approach has been shown to decrease pain intensity, improve neck function, enhance posture, and reduce work-related musculoskeletal strain in telephone operators with neck pain.

Enrollment: 90 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 20 to 60 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• 1. Aged between 20 and 60 years(Kang, Im, & Kim, 2021) 2. Both male and female(Hetaimish et al., 2024) 3. Sitting job during an 8-hour shift and worked telephone, and documents.(Tabanfar, Sobhani, Safari Variani, & Varmazyar, 2023) 4. Employed 6 months ago 5. The patients included in this study if they have CVA equal or less than 50(Abd El-Azeim et al., 2022) 6. Neck pain with mild neck disability (NDI score 5-15)(Pawaria, Sudhan, & Kalra, 2019) 7. A score of 4-7 for the Visual Analog Scale (VAS)(Kang et al., 2021)

Exclusion criteria

• 1. History of traumatic cervical spine injuries ,Inflammatory arthropathy 2. Infectious spondylitis, severe osteoporosis, cervical disc protrusion, cervical spine fractures or dislocations, previous cervical surgery, and intractable migraines.(Tian et al., 2025a) 3. intermittent neck pain, transient neck pain or any radiation of the pain to the upper extremity (neurological origin of the pain)

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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90 participants in 2 patient groups

Scapular Strengthening + Core Stabilization Group

Experimental group

Description:

Participants in this arm will receive a structured exercise program consisting of scapular muscle strengthening (targeting the middle and lower trapezius and serratus anterior) combined with core stabilization exercises. The intervention will be supervised and performed over the defined treatment period, with sessions conducted multiple times per week. The program aims to improve postural control, reduce cervical spine load, and decrease neck pain intensity while enhancing functional outcomes.

Treatment:

Other: Conventional Neck Exercise Program

Other: Scapular Muscle Strengthening Combined with Core Stabilization Exercises

Conventional Exercise / Control Group

Active Comparator group

Description:

Participants in this arm will receive conventional neck exercises, including cervical range-of-motion, stretching, and basic strengthening exercises commonly prescribed for work-related neck pain. No specific scapular strengthening or core stabilization exercises will be included. This group serves as a comparison to evaluate the additional effects of combined scapular and core stabilization training.

Treatment:

Other: Conventional Neck Exercise Program

Other: Scapular Muscle Strengthening Combined with Core Stabilization Exercises