The Effect of Rehabilitation Exercises Accompanied by Infrared Radiation on Lower Cervical Kyphosis in Menopausal Women

Abstract

The research aimed to prepare rehabilitation exercises accompanied by infrared radiation for menopausal women suffering from lower cervical kyphosis, and to identify the effect of these exercises on rehabilitating lower cervical kyphosis in menopausal women. The researcher adopted the experimental method using a design with experimental and control groups. The participants were menopausal women aged (51–54) years who attended the Physiotherapy Department at Ibn Al-Quff Hospital for Spinal Cord Injuries. Their number reached (16) patients, who were intentionally selected using the comprehensive enumeration method, representing (100%) of the original population. After determining the research tests, rehabilitation exercises accompanied by infrared radiation were prepared and applied during the research experiment for (6) consecutive weeks at a rate of (3) rehabilitation sessions per week for the participants in the experimental group. Upon completion of the experiment, the results were processed using the SPSS system. The conclusions indicated that integrating rehabilitation exercises accompanied by infrared radiation was suitable for therapeutic sessions for menopausal women suffering from lower cervical kyphosis, and was superior to rehabilitation without infrared radiation. The application of these exercises had a positive effect in reducing the angle of lower cervical kyphosis, decreasing secondary fat mass in the posterior neck region, and restoring normal overall body height in affected menopausal women, compared with their counterparts who received rehabilitation without infrared radiation. Accordingly, the researcher recommended avoiding excessive variation in resistance levels during therapeutic sessions for rehabilitating lower cervical kyphosis in menopausal women. Furthermore, women should continue performing strengthening and stretching exercises for the muscles surrounding the neck, particularly the upper back muscles, after recovery from lower cervical kyphosis.