Aug 15, 2025

Public workspaceRelieving neck and thoracic pain in breastfeeding mothers through community based care

  • Mst. sanzida Ara Islam1,
  • Dr. Sharmila Jahan2,
  • Dr. Md. Feroz Kabir2
  • 1Jashore University of Science and Technology;
  • 2Jashore University of Science & Technology
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Protocol CitationMst. sanzida Ara Islam, Dr. Sharmila Jahan, Dr. Md. Feroz Kabir 2025. Relieving neck and thoracic pain in breastfeeding mothers through community based care. protocols.io https://dx.doi.org/10.17504/protocols.io.261gekp6yg47/v1
License: This is an open access protocol distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License,  which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited
Protocol status: Working
We use this protocol and it's working
Created: June 28, 2025
Last Modified: August 15, 2025
Protocol Integer ID: 221230
Keywords: structured therapeutic exercise program to postural education, breastfeeding technique training, effective than postural education, postural education, better postural awareness, improvements in posture, breastfeeding mother, posture, structured therapeutic exercise program, ergonomic guidance, greater reductions in pain, relieving neck, exercise, reducing neck, technique training, mothers through community
Funders Acknowledgements:
Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation
Abstract
This two-arm randomized controlled trial will assess whether adding a structured therapeutic exercise program to postural education is more effective than postural education alone in reducing neck and thoracic pain among breastfeeding mothers. Eighty mothers aged 18–40 will be randomly assigned to receive ergonomic guidance and breastfeeding technique training, with or without targeted cervical and thoracic exercises, over six weeks. Both groups are expected to improve due to better postural awareness, but those receiving the combined intervention are anticipated to have greater reductions in pain and disability, as well as improvements in posture and musculoskeletal function.
Materials
1. Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for pain assessment.
2. Digital Inclinometer
3. Neck Disability Index (NDI) for functional disability assessment.
4. Thoracic Oswestry Disability Index for thoracic function assessment.
Troubleshooting
Protocol references
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2. Zhou, B., Liang, R., Zhang, J., Li, X., Broach, Z., & Yip, J. (2024). Posture Monitoring During Breastfeeding: Smart Underwear Integrated with an Accelerometer and Flexible Sensors. Sensors, 24(23), 7641. https://doi.org/10.3390/s24237641
3. Aburub, A., Darabseh, M. Z., Alsharman, A., Hegazy, M. M., & Hunter, S. M. (2022). Nursing mothers’ experiences of musculoskeletal pain attributed to poor posture during breastfeeding: a mixed methods study. Breastfeeding Medicine, 17(11), 926–931. https://doi.org/10.1089/bfm.2022.0105
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5. Ratajczak, M., & Górnowicz, R. (2024). The influence of breastfeeding factors on the prevalence of back and neck pain: data from an online survey. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, 25(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12891-024-07785-4
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8. Afshariani, R., Kiani, M., & Zamanian, Z. (2019). The influence of ergonomic breastfeeding training on some health parameters in infants and mothers: a randomized controlled trial. Archives of Public Health, 77(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13690-019-0373-x
9. Letafatkar, A., Rabiei, P., Alamooti, G. et al. Effect of therapeutic exercise routine on pain, disability, posture, and health status in dentists with chronic neck pain: a randomized controlled trial. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 93, 281–290 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-019-01480-x
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Acknowledgements
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation at Jashore University of Science and Technology (JUST) for partially funding this study. We also thank the faculty members, clinical staff, and all participants whose support and cooperation were essential to the successful execution of this research.