Effects of a Wearable Device ,Phone App and Exercise on Cervico-thoracic Posture in University Students

Forward head posture(FHP) and thoracic kyphosis are increasingly prevalent amonguniversity students due to sustained flexed‐neck postures during smartphone use,laptop‐based study, and prolonged sitting. Chronic FHP alters the normal cervicallordotic curve, increases mechanical loading on cervical spine structures, and has beenassociated with muscular imbalance, cervicogenic pain , and headache.Conventional postural correction exercise programs are well established, but adherence topostural correction outside of supervised sessions remains a key limitation. Students aretypically unaware of their posture lapsing during daily activities such as studying,phone use and prolonged sitting and correction cues are usually absent outside theclinical or exercise setting.Technology‐assisted feedback systems have emerged as a potential solution to thisadherence gap. Wearable biofeedback devices provide immediate, real‐time correction cueswhen a threshold postural deviation is detected, theoretically reinforcing correctpostural habits through continuous behavioral conditioning. App‐based reminder systems,offers a scheduled, intermittent prompts rather than continuous monitoring , it is morepractical and scalable given lower cost and no specialized hardware requirement.This three arm, parallel group randomized controlled trial is designed to generatecomparative evidence on the relative effectiveness of continuous biofeedback, scheduledreminders, and conventional exercise therapy alone, in order to inform evidence‐based,resource‐appropriate postural correction strategies for university and academic healthsettings.The results of this trial are intended to directly inform clinical decision‐making forphysiotherapists and university wellness programs considering adoption of wearable orapp‐based postural correction tools. Should either technology‐assisted approachdemonstrate superiority over conventional exercise alone, this would support integrationof low‐cost, scalable postural feedback technology into standard student musculoskeletalhealth programs. Conversely, if outcomes are comparable across groups, this would supportconventional supervised exercise as a sufficient, lower‐cost first‐line approach, withoutthe added expense or complexity of technology‐assisted feedback devices.University students represent a population with high daily screen‐time exposure andsedentary study behavior, making them broadly representative of the wider demographic atrisk for posture‐related cervical musculoskeletal strain seen in academic andearly‐career professional environments. Evidence generated from this population isexpected to have relevance beyond the immediate study setting, informing postural healthstrategies applicable to similarly screen‐intensive occupational and educationalcontexts.