Objective: The aim of this study was to review the scientific literature on the efficacy of neuromuscular integration techniques for the rehabilitation of forward head posture (FHP) and rounded shoulder posture (RSP). Data Sources: Online databases CINAHL, PubMed, and SportDiscus were searched for the Boolean terms: “neuromusc* AND shoulder AND posture”, “neuromusc* AND neck AND posture”, “neuromusc* AND head AND posture”. Study Selection: Reviewed studies were limited to human studies with an exercise intervention. Studies that contained participants with severe chronic conditions or acute musculoskeletal injuries were excluded. Data Extraction: One reviewer extracted data on study and patient characteristics and selected articles were evaluated by 2 raters for methodological quality. Data Synthesis: A total of 281 subjects participated in the six chosen studies that met the inclusion criteria. Exercise intervention protocols were then reviewed and recommendations were made accordingly for the FHP and RSP respectively. Conclusions: Evidence showed efficacy of neuromuscular techniques for FHP, but not for RSP. This review also highlighted the lack of research in this field and the ambiguity in practice for what constitutes a neuromuscular integration method.

Exercise intervention; Craniovertebral angle, Dysfunction