Effects of Alexander Technique in Children With Upper Cross Syndrome.

November 18, 2025 updated by: Riphah International University
This randomized clinical trial will involve 50 participants aged 13 to 16, recruited from Faisal Hospital Faisalabad and different schools nearby. Participants will be randomly assigned to either the Alexander Technique group, which will include home-based exercises supervised by parents, or a control group performing traditional posture-corrective exercises. The outcomes will be measured using tools such as the Cranio-Vertebral Angle (CVA), Shoulder Protraction Measurement (SPM), Thoracic Kyphotic Angle (TKA), and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for pain assessment. The findings are expected to provide insights into the benefits of the Alexander Technique as a therapeutic strategy for addressing UCS and improving overall health outcomes in adolescents. Data collection will be done before and after the intervention. Data will be analyzed through SPSS version 26.00.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Upper Cross Syndrome (UCS) is a common postural disorder characterized by muscle imbalances resulting from prolonged use of electronic devices, leading to symptoms such as forward head posture, rounded shoulders, and increased thoracic kyphosis. This condition predominantly affects young adults and is associated with discomfort and decreased postural stability, negatively impacting overall physical function. The study aims to investigate the effectiveness of the Alexander Technique (AT) in improving pain levels and range of motion (ROM) in individuals with Upper Cross Syndrome. By focusing on the principles of optimal body use and postural awareness, the Alexander Technique may offer a valuable intervention to alleviate symptoms and enhance Range of motion.

This randomized clinical trial will involve 50 participants aged 13 to 16, recruited from Faisal Hospital Faisalabad and different schools nearby. Participants will be randomly assigned to either the Alexander Technique group, which will include home-based exercises supervised by parents, or a control group performing traditional posture-corrective exercises. The outcomes will be measured using tools such as the Cranio-Vertebral Angle (CVA), Shoulder Protraction Measurement (SPM), Thoracic Kyphotic Angle (TKA), and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for pain assessment. The findings are expected to provide insights into the benefits of the Alexander Technique as a therapeutic strategy for addressing UCS and improving overall health outcomes in adolescents. Data collection will be done before and after the intervention. Data will be analyzed through SPSS version 26.00.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

36

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • Pakistan
    • Punjab Province
      • Lahore, Punjab Province, Pakistan, 54900
        • Recruiting
        • Muhammad Asif Javed
        • Contact:
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Shanza Chaudhary, MS-PT

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age between 13 -16
  • School going children

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Participants with signs of:
  • Fractures
  • Surgeries
  • Joint problems
  • Injuries in the spine
  • Skeletal-muscular imbalances
  • Lower limb cross syndrome abnormal BMI participants engaging in regular physical activity for at least 6 h per week

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Other
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: GROUP A
control group
Other: Corrective exercises
The Corrective exercises will be done in home base setting, and the corrective movements' specialist will be responsible for supervising their performance twice a week. Selected CE will designed to correct posture and address the mentioned abnormalities through stretching exercises for shortened muscles and strengthening exercises for individuals with weak muscles. These exercises will include a 5-10-minute warm-up followed by stretching exercises for the chest, hip- flexor-psoas, upper trapezius, intercostal muscles, upper neck extensors, and then strengthening exercises for the shoulder protractors, deep neck flexors, lower neck extensors, and thoracic spine extensors
Active Comparator: GROUP B
interventional group
Other: Alexander technique
In the AT group, parents will supervise the patients exercises at home base on the explanations and training the corrective movements specialist provided in the first session. In the AT group, adolescents were taught the considerations and habits they should remember and focus on daily basis. These included teaching ergonomic considerations and individual postural habits during daily activities such as standing, walking, sitting, sleeping, reading, using a computer, and other repetitive and continuous activities performed during the day.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Cranio-vertebral angle (CVA)
Time Frame: 8 weeks

Cranio-vertebral angle (CVA) is the most widely known measurement method used to determine how forward the head is tilted in a person in FHP. For CVA measurement, the digital camera (Canon 650D, Canon, Japan) was fixed and mounted at a distance of 1m, and the side of the subject was photographed, for accurate measurement of CVA, a plumb line suspended from the ceiling was allowed to descend directly next to the subject.Subjects were instructed to stand comfortably with both arms relaxed on the side of the trunk and maintain a natural head posture.

CVA was defined as the angle between the horizontal line and the line from the spinous process of the seventh cervical vertebra to the ear tragus. The CV angle means that the smaller the angle, the greater the flexion of the lower cervical spine
8 weeks
Shoulder Protraction Measurement (SPM)
Time Frame: 8 weeks
The complexity of these combined motions as well as the thick surrounding soft tissues present challenges to accurate angular measurement of scapular motion. However, observing these scapular motions superiorly provides a perspective of the superficial acromion as an indicator of scapular position relative to the medial superior angle and therein may lie the opportunity for goniometric assessment.
8 weeks
Thoracic Kyphotic Angle (TKA)
Time Frame: 8 weeks
The thoracic kyphotic angle (TKA) is defined as the angle formed by the intersection of two lines drawn along the superior endplate of the uppermost thoracic vertebra and the inferior endplate of the lowermost thoracic vertebra. This angle is crucial for assessing spinal alignment and postural abnormalities.
8 weeks
Visual Analogue Scale (VAS)
Time Frame: 8 weeks
VAS is widely used as a measure of pain intensity in globally. It has been shown that VAS is valid, reliable and interval scale. VAS has high testretest reliability and repeatability. In this VAS, it has a continuous scale consist of a horizontal and vertical line that called vertical VAS and horizontal visual analog scale.
8 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Riphah International University

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Shanza Chaudhary, MS-PT, Riphah International University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

October 28, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

January 25, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

January 30, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

November 18, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 18, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

November 25, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

November 25, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 18, 2025

Last Verified

November 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • REC/RCR&AHS/SHANZACHAUDHARY

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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