Extracted studies: Upper crossed syndrome and workplace computer use.

Authors, Date	Type of Study	Population	Therapeutic Focus
Asad et al., 2021 [12]	Cross-sectional survey	General population, Islamabad	Association between UCS and neck pain.
Bisen et al., 2024 [13]	Case–control	Office workers in Pune, India	Correlation between cervical proprioception, scapular dyskinesis, and neck pain.
Calik et al., 2022 [7]	Cross-sectional, mixed methods	Office workers	Risk factors for musculoskeletal disorders from office work
Chang et al., 2023 [4]	Narrative systematic review	Patients with UCS and neck pain	Overview of the treatment of UCS.
Chaudhuri et al., 2023 [14]	Systematic review and meta-analysis	Individuals with work-related UCS	Methodologic study to determine the most effective treatment strategies for UCS.
Chen et al., 2024 [15]	Systematic review and meta-analysis of RCTs	Studies in Asia, Europe, and Iran. Patients with a 3–6-month history of chronic neck pain	Effects of scapular targeted therapy on neck pain and function.
Côte et al., 2008 [9]	Review of insurance claims for workers’ compensation for neck pain	Office workers in Ontario, Canada	To measure the prevalence and incidence of neck pain in this cohort.
Elizagaray-Garcia et al., 2020 [16]	Systematic review and meta-analysis	Twelve studies of individuals with chronic primary headaches and asymptomatic controls	To compare forward head posture between individuals with chronic headaches and asymptomatic individuals.
Fernandes et al., 2025 [17]	Randomized clinical trial	52 women with chronic non-specific neck pain randomly assigned to postural re-education or specific therapeutic exercises	To determine if postural re-education is as effective as specific therapeutic exercises in reducing subjectively reported pain.
Gerr et al., 2006 [18]	Literature review	Studies investigating the relationship between computer use by time and posture and development of upper-extremity musculoskeletal disorders.	To determine if changes in ergonomics and/or hours per day of computer use could mitigate upper extremity musculoskeletal pain.
Guo et al., 2025 [19]	Randomized controlled trial	74 college students with UCS randomized to intervention and control groups	Assess efficacy of cervical and thoracic “Daoyin” training on pain, posture, function, and emotional state.
Iram et al., 2022 [20]	Cross-sectional study	Office workers who spent at least 3 h/day on computers	To determine if there is a significant relationship between computer use and complaints of arm, neck, and shoulder pain.
Jung et al., 2024 [21]	Crossover experimental protocol	33 men and women ages 18+ who were heavy computer users	To examine changes in resting-state brain function due to forward head posture.
Kaur et al., 2025 [22]	Systematic review	Systematic review of 7 systematic reviews on physiotherapeutic approaches to UCS	To investigate the relative efficacy of various physiotherapeutic strategies for UCS.
Lee et al., 2023 [23]	Experimental	50 participants ages 20–50	To use a new algorithm to classify normal and abnormal body postures during computer use.
Lucas et al., 2022 [3]	Systematic review	Data from 61 studies including low-, middle-, and high-income countries on shoulder pain	To determine the global prevalence and incidence of shoulder pain.
Mesas et al., 2014 [10]	Cross-sectional analysis	Data on 8283 Spanish workers	To examine the association between chronic neck, lower-back, and migraine pain, and absenteeism.
Moi et al., 2021 [24]	Narrative review	8 studies of UCS on patients ages 20–50 with UCS	To examine efficacy of modalities including myofascial release, exercise, stretching and strengthening, TENS, and IFT on treating UCS.
Moon & Kim, 2023 [25]	Cross-sectional, single-blind study	Office workers ages 20–50, working at least 40 h/week	To examine the relationship between scapular dyskinesis and neck and shoulder pain.
Moore, 2004 [26]	Case study	56-year-old male writer	To examine the relationship between UCS and cervicogenic headache.
Panagiotopoulos & Crowther, 2019 [6]	Summary of clinical assessment	N/A	To explain the anatomy and kinematics of the scapula, biomechanics, pathological processes, and rehabilitation.
Panther et al., 2022 [27]	Narrative review	N/A	To review diagnostic tests and treatment for thoracic outlet syndrome
Pathan et al., 2022 [28]	Narrative review	N/A	Assessment of upper crossed syndrome symptoms and a structured exercise program
Safiri et al., 2020 [29]	Systematic analysis	General population living with neck pain across 195 countries	To review data on the incidence and prevalence of neck pain from the 2017 Global Burden of Disease study.
Seidi et al., 2020 [30]	Randomized controlled trial	24 men with UCS	To investigate the efficacy of a corrective exercise program in men with UCS.
Sepehri, et al., 2024 [31]	Systematic review and meta-analysis	22 studies on the effect of therapeutic exercises on forward head posture	To examine the efficacy of specific strengthening and stretching exercises on improving the kinematics of individuals with UCS.
Takeno et al., 2019 [32]	Systematic review	7 studies	To examine therapeutic interventions for scapular kinematics and disability in patients with subacromial impingement.
Tang et al., 2024 [33]	Multi-center randomized controlled trial	90 patients with scapular dyskinesis	To compare the efficacy of scapular stabilization exercises with conventional exercises for treating shoulder pain.
Turgut et al., 2017 [34]	Randomized controlled trial	30 outpatients with scapular dyskinesis	Comparison of a scapular stabilization exercise protocol with conventional exercises for addressing kinematics, disability, and pain.
Wahlström, 2005 [35]	Narrative review	Computer users with musculoskeletal disorders	To examine the association between work environments, psychosocial factors, and physical load with musculoskeletal disorders related to computer work.
Xu, 2024 [2]	Systematic review and meta-analysis	7 studies involving 3722 participants	To examine the prevalence of UCS
Yaghoubitajani et al., 2022 [36]	Randomized controlled trial	45 subjects ages 30–45 assigned to online or workplace exercise groups and a control (no exercise intervention).	To examine the efficacy of online vs. workplace exercise interventions in reducing UCS symptoms, compared to the control group.

Table 1.