Effect of pilates exercises plus breastfeeding positioning adjustment on artificial intelligence-assessed craniovertebral angle in breastfeeding women with forward head posture: a randomized controlled trial.

Doaa Onsy El Blasy, Lama Saad El-Din Mahmoud, Khadiga S Abdulaziz, Amal Aly El-Taweel, Doaa A Osman

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial

In one paragraph

Trial report in Scientific reports, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it

0cells of the map it votes in

0citing papers in PubMed

–field-weighted citation impact

1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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3 · Its place in the literature

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0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Doaa Onsy El BlasyDepartment of Physical Therapy for Women's Health, Faculty of Physical Therapy, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt.

Lama Saad El-Din MahmoudDepartment of Physical Therapy for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Faculty of Physical Therapy, October 6 University, Giza, Egypt. lamaelsedawyy@hotmail.com.ORCID 0000-0003-4914-2141

Khadiga S AbdulazizDepartment of Physical Therapy for Women's Health, Faculty of Physical Therapy, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt.

Amal Aly El-TaweelDoctorate and Consultant of Pediatrics, International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant, Board member and Director of Education of the Egyptian Lactation Consultants' Association, Fellow and Board Member of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine, Cairo, Egypt.

Doaa A OsmanDepartment of Physical Therapy for Women's Health, Faculty of Physical Therapy, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Forward head posture (FHP), considered a neuromusculoskeletal disorder, includes those associated with breastfeeding. Pilates is recognized for improving posture, flexibility, and core strength. To investigate the effect of Pilates on craniovertebral angle (CVA), cervical spine mobility, pain, neck disability, fatigue, breastfeeding self-efficacy, quality of life (QOL), and infant anthropometric measurements in breastfeeding women with FHP. Seventy‑four breastfeeding women with FHP were randomized into two equal groups. The control group (n = 37) received breastfeeding positioning adjustment only, while the intervention group (n = 37) received breastfeeding positioning adjustment in addition to Pilates exercises. The Primary outcomes included CVA assessed using Artificial Intelligence Posture Evaluation and Correction System (APECS) and cervical range of motion (ROM), while secondary outcomes included Visual Analogue Scale for pain (VAS-Pain), Neck Disability Index (NDI), Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS), Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale-Short Form (BSES-SF), QOL assessed using Short Form-36 Health Survey (SF-36), and infant anthropometric measurements (weight and length). All outcomes were assessed at the Outpatient Clinic of the Physical Therapy Department, Suez Canal Authority Hospital, Port Said, Egypt, at baseline and after the 8-week intervention. Mixed-design MANOVA demonstrated significant improvements from pre- to post-intervention in both groups across all measured outcomes (all p < 0.001). However, the study group exhibited significantly greater improvements than the control group in all outcome measures (all p < 0.001). The magnitude of these effects was large to very large, with partial eta-squared values ranging from 0.621 to 0.990. In breastfeeding women with FHP, Pilates exercises with breastfeeding positioning adjustment significantly improve CVA, cervical spine mobility, breastfeeding self-efficacy, QOL, and infant growth parameters, while reducing pain, neck disability, and fatigue.

Indexed as

Artificial IntelligenceBreast FeedingExercise Movement TechniquesPostureAdultFemaleHeadHumansInfantNeck PainQuality of LifeRange of Motion, ArticularArtificial intelligenceBreastfeedingBreastfeeding positioningCervical painCraniovertebral angleForward head posturePilates

Identifiers

PMID42533012

DOI10.1038/s41598-026-63711-9

PMCPMC13424140

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY

Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.