A Study On The Exercise Intervention Program And Effects Of Upper Cross Syndrome In Elementary School Students

Objective: This study was conducted to develop an exercise intervention program for elementary school students and to verify the effectiveness of the exercise intervention program in improving upper cross syndrome in elementary school students.In order to integrate the exercise intervention program into the normal school teaching process and to provide new ideas for the exercise intervention program and school teaching activities.Methods: Through reading the literature,expert questionnaires were designed to select intervention actions,and after 2 rounds of questionnaires data and expert recommendations were generated to form objective and consistent indicators.The literature method and expert survey method were used in the development of the exercise intervention programme.The experimental method,questionnaire method and mathematical and statistical method were used to verify the effectiveness of the exercise intervention programme.In this study,523 students in grades 3-6 at the West School of Weiming Road Primary School in Shijiazhuang were screened.A total of 100 students with upper crossover syndrome in body posture and meeting the inclusion criteria were included in the experimental group of 50 students and the control group of 50 students.The experimental group underwent an exercise intervention programme and the control group maintained normal school-based general physical activity.The experimental group and the control group were evaluated for structural and functional parameters: static postural structure(forward head angle and rounded shoulder angle),muscle(pectoralis major,superior trapezius,sternocleidomastoid)characteristics(muscle tone,elasticity,stiffness)and joint mobility(shoulder and cervical joints).The exercise intervention was divided into 12 weeks,with a pre-test before the exercise intervention,a mid-test after the 6-week exercise intervention and a post-test after the 12-week exercise intervention.Using mathematical statistics,comparisons between groups before and after the intervention were made using independent samples t-tests,and comparisons between groups before and after the intervention were made using paired samples t-tests.Results:(1)The exercise intervention programme was divided into 5 parts: myofascial release,stretching exercises for tight muscles,dynamic flexibility exercises,breathing and posture exercises,and strength exercises for weak muscles,and 37 intervention movements were designed according to the 5 parts.The period of the exercise intervention was 12 weeks,3 times a day,15 minutes each time.(2)Effectiveness of the 12-week exercise intervention programme:(1)Static structural indexes: compared with the pre-test results,the students in the experimental group showed an increase in left and right lateral head forward angle and left and right lateral round shoulder angle in the mid-test and post-test(P<0.01).(2)Muscle property indexes: compared with the pre-test results,the oscillation frequency of the left and right sides of the sternocleidomastoid muscle decreased(P<0.01),the stiffness of the left and right sides decreased(P<0.01),and the logarithmic decay value of the left and right sides decreased(P<0.01)in the post-test of the students in the experimental group,(P<0.01),the hardness of the left and right sides decreased(P<0.01),and the logarithmic decay value of the left and right sides decreased(P<0.01);compared with the results of the pre-test,the oscillation frequency of the left and right sides of the pectoralis major muscle decreased(P<0.01),the hardness of the left and right sides of the pectoralis major muscle decreased(P<0.01),and the logarithmic decay value of the left side of the pectoralis major muscle decreased(P<0.01)in the post-test of the students in the experimental group.pectoralis major muscle oscillation frequency decreased(P<0.01),right pectoralis major muscle oscillation frequency decreased(P<0.05),left pectoralis major muscle stiffness decreased(P<0.01),right pectoralis major muscle stiffness decreased(P<0.05);compared with the results of pre-testing experimental group students post-testing the left side of the upper trapezius muscle bundle oscillation frequency decreased(P<0.05),the left and right sides of the upper trapezius muscle stiffness decreased(P<(P<0.05),and the logarithmic attenuation values of the left and right sides of the superior trapezius bundle decreased(P<0.05),and the stiffness of the left superior trapezius bundle decreased(P<0.01)in the middle test of the experimental group compared with the pre-test results.(3)Comparison of the results of the control group:(1)Static structural indicators: compared to the results of the pre-test,the post-test of the control group showed a decrease in the angle of anterior head tilt on the left and right sides(P<0.01)and a decrease in the angle of rounded shoulder on the left and right sides(P<0.05).(2)Muscle characteristics: compared to the pretest results,the control group showed a decrease in the logarithmic attenuation of the right side of the sternocleidomastoid muscle(P<0.01)and a decrease in the stiffness of the right side of the muscle(P<0.05);the decrease in the stiffness of the left side of the pectoralis major muscle was significantly different(P<0.05).((3)Functional indexes: the post-test cervical flexion,left flexion,right rotation and left rotation directions of mobility were all reduced in the control group compared with the results of the pre-test(P<0.01).(4)Results of parental satisfaction test: All parents of students in the experimental group thought that the 12-week exercise intervention had an improvement effect on students’ posture.6.53% of parents rated +2,13.04% rated +3,39.13% rated +4,21.73% rated +5 and 10.87%rated +6.8.70% of parents rated +7.Conclusion:(1)This study took into account the characteristics of upper crossed syndrome in primary school students and their school schedule,and designed exercise intervention methods and tools in five parts: myofascial release,stretching exercises for tight muscles,dynamic flexibility exercises,breathing and posture exercises,and strength exercises for weak muscles,with a total of 37 movements.The total period of the exercise intervention programme is 12 weeks,with the first 6 weeks being phase 1 and the last 6 weeks being phase 2.The duration of the intervention was 3 sessions per day(at school)of 15 minutes each.The 12 weeks of the exercise intervention were successfully completed with good compliance and support from parents and school teachers,and the desired goals were largely achieved.(2)The exercise intervention programme improved the head forward posture and rounded shoulder posture of primary school students with upper crossed syndrome;increased the head forward angle and rounded shoulder angle of primary school students;reduced muscle tone and muscle stiffness and increased muscle flexibility of the right and left sternocleidomastoid muscles,reduced muscle tone and muscle stiffness and increased muscle flexibility of the right and left pectoralis major muscles,reduced muscle stiffness and increased muscle flexibility of the right and left superior trapezius muscle.To increase the mobility of the cervical joints of the primary school pupils in forward flexion,back extension,left flexion,right flexion,left rotation and right rotation,as well as the mobility of the shoulder joints in forward flexion,back extension and abduction.(3)The 12-week exercise intervention improved the muscle characteristics of the sternocleidomastoid and pectoralis major muscles better than 12 weeks of general physical activity in school.