Total head excursion and resting head posture: normal and patient comparisons
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Published on: April 28, 2020
W P Hanten1, S L Olson, J L Russell
1School of Physical Therapy, Texas Woman's University, Houston 77030, USA.
Objective:
To determine whether significant differences existed between normal and patient groups on three postural measurements: anterior-posterior total head excursion (THE), resting head posture in sitting (RHPsit), and resting head posture in standing (RHPstd).
Subjects:
Forty-two healthy subjects, 13 men and 29 women between the ages of 20 and 60 years, were matched to 42 patients according to gender and age.
Design:
Measurements of THE, RHPsit, and RHPstd were taken for each subject. Patients were measured during their initial evaluation and had neck pain as a primary or secondary complaint.
Results:
A two-way multivariate analysis of variance followed by two-way analyses of variance showed that normal subjects had a significantly (p<.05) greater THE than did the patients and that men (patients and controls) scored significantly higher (p<.05) than women (patients and controls) on both THE and RHPstd.
Conclusion:
Clinical assessment of patients with cervical pain should focus on cervical mobility rather than resting head posture. Head/neck posture is different for males and females and they should not be judged by the same standard.
