Effect of upper back brace with auditory feedback for forward head rounded shoulder posture among office workers with chronic neck pain – A pre-post single group study

Background: Forward head and rounded shoulder posture (FHRSP) is a poor habitual neck posture among office workers. The posture results in muscle tension and pain around the neck and shoulders and nerve root symptoms in the upper extremities. Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of upper back brace with auditory feedback on posture among office workers with neck pain and forward head posture. Study Design: The study design involves prospective, experimental, pre–post single group. Methods: The office workers (males and females aged 25–60 years) were screened on shoulder girdle flexibility test (fingertips > 2 inches [5 cm] apart). Ten subjects (out of 50 screened subjects) meeting the eligibility criteria were selected for the study. The subjects wore the upper back brace with auditory feedback for 6 h in a day (minimum 30 min in continuation) for 2 weeks. Pre- and post-assessments of the neck disability index (NDI), visual analog scale (VAS), craniovertebral angle (CVA), and scapular index (SI) were carried out at the baseline and after 2 weeks, respectively. Results: Postintervention, significant reduction was found in NDI score (P < 0.05, 95% confidence interval (CI) of mean difference (CI): 2.33–8.72 and VAS score (P < 0.05, 95% CI: 0.70–2.89) and significant improvement was found in CVA score (P < 0.05, 95% CI: 0.60–6.59) and SI score (P < 0.05, 95% CI: 0.70–10.01). Conclusion: The results indicate that the upper back brace with auditory feedback improves the FHRSP and reduces neck pain and related disability among office workers.