Investigation of the Effects of a Neuromuscular Control-Focused Posture Training Program in Butchers

December 18, 2025 updated by: Doç.Dr.Ömer Şevgin, Uskudar University

Investigation of the Effects of a Neuromuscular Control-Focused Posture Training Program on Neck and Upper Back Muscle Activation in Butchers: A Randomized Controlled Trial

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a neuromuscular posture training program implemented in butchers on neck pain, posture quality and upper back muscle control.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The study population consists of butchers in Istanbul. Butchers will be included in the study after obtaining their informed consent. Participants will be randomized and divided into two equal groups. These groups will be designated as exercise and control groups. All participants will receive ergonomic training, while those in the exercise group will additionally receive neuromuscular exercises. At the beginning and end of the study, all participants will be assessed using the Visual Analog Scale, Neck Disability Index, Deep Cervical Flexor Endurance Test, Lateral Scapular Slide Test, Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand - Short Version, and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

50

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 Locations

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

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria

  • Being over 18 years of age
  • Actively working as a butcher in Istanbul
  • Actively participating in the profession for at least 5 years
  • Not having experienced acute trauma to the neck or back region within the last 3 months
  • Being physically capable of participating in neuromuscular posture training
  • Signing the Informed Voluntary Consent Form

Exclusion Criteria

Persons with the following characteristics will not be included in the study:

  • Being under 18 years of age
  • Not actively practicing butchery
  • Having undergone surgery to the neck, spine, or shoulder region within the last 6 months
  • Serious neurological conditions such as acute cervical disc herniation, radiculopathy, or myelopathy
  • Systemic diseases such as cancer or serious cardiovascular disease
  • Severe balance disorder/vestibular disorder
  • Health condition that would prevent the safe continuation of exercise practice

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: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: control
only those who received ergonomics training
Other: ergonomics training
Each of the control group participants will receive separate ergonomics training. The content of this training will include the topics of "what is ergonomics, the purpose of ergonomics, musculoskeletal diseases in employees, work-related musculoskeletal risk factors
Experimental: exercise
those who received exercise along with ergonomics training
Other: ergonomics training
Each of the control group participants will receive separate ergonomics training. The content of this training will include the topics of "what is ergonomics, the purpose of ergonomics, musculoskeletal diseases in employees, work-related musculoskeletal risk factors
Other: ergonomics training + exercise
  • Deep cervical flexor activation
  • Chin-tuck
  • 2-3 cm head lift endurance training
  • Scapular stabilization exercises
  • Retraction + depression
  • Serratus Anterior activation
  • Punch progressions in the supine position
  • Pectoral and upper trapezius stretching exercises
  • Functional posture training
  • Correction of butchers' forward bending and rotation movements when using knives
  • Ergonomic posture control during the task

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index
Time Frame: 10 weeks
This index evaluates sleep quality and disturbance over the past month. It contains a total of 24 questions. 19 of these questions are answered by the person's self-assessment, and 5 of them are answered by the roommate who shares the same room with the person. The 5 questions answered by the person's roommate are not included when calculating the score. In scoring, the lowest (0) and the highest (21) points are obtained. A score of 4 and above indicates poor sleep quality
10 weeks
Quick-Arm, Shoulder and Hand Disabilities Survey functional scale
Time Frame: 10 weeks

The Quick Arm, Shoulder and Hand Disabilities Survey score is calculated as follows: At least 10 out of the 11 items must be answered. Each answered question will have a maximum value of 5. These values are then transformed into a score of 100 by subtracting 1 and multiplying by 25. This transformation is done to compare the scores with other scales ranging from 0 to 100. A high score indicates significant dysfunction.

Quick Arm, Shoulder and Hand Disabilities Survey Score = [(Sum of responses / n) - 1] X 25 n: the number of questions answered.
10 weeks
Neck Pain Disability Index Questionnaire
Time Frame: 10 weeks
The scale includes 10 titles. It includes pain sensitivity, heavy lifting, personal hygiene, reading, sleep, headache, concentration, work, driving, social activities. There are 6 answer options according to the severity of the limitation or pain. Scoring is between 0 and 5. The highest score is 50 and the least is 0. The neck disability level classification according to the total score is as follows 0-4: no restrictions 5-14: mild limitation 15-24: moderate limitation 25-34: severe limitation 34 and up: completely restricted
10 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Uskudar University

Investigators

  • Study Chair: Esra Çal, Uskudar 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)

December 18, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

March 20, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

April 15, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

December 5, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

December 5, 2025

First Posted (Estimated)

December 18, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

December 26, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

December 18, 2025

Last Verified

December 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • Uskudar78

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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