Craniocervical postural relations and craniofacial morphology in 30 blind subjects

Previous studies have shown that head posture is dependent on vision. The head posture of blind persons therefore can be expected to differ from that of normal subjects. This is of interest in the current analyses of the relation between head posture and craniofacial morphology. The purpose of the present investigation was to describe the posture of the head and cervical column and the craniofacial morphology in a group of blind subjects, and to compare the findings with those previously found in male and female groups of normal subjects. The sample comprised 30 blind subjects--18 men and 12 women, aged 15 to 35 years, all of whom had been without perception of light since birth. The control group comprised 120 male dental students in the age range 22 to 30 years and 51 female dental students in the age range 22 to 27 years. The analysis of head posture showed that the intra-and interindividual variabilities of the craniovertical angles were significantly larger than those of the craniocervical angles in the blind group. The interindividual variabilities of the craniovertical angles were significantly larger in the blind than in the control group, but the variabilities of the craniocervical angles were similar in both groups. Craniovertical relations thus were more variable in the blind subjects, whereas craniocervical relations showed the same variability as normal subjects. On the average, the head was carried in a 4.3 degrees lower position in the neck was 4.5 degrees more forward inclined in the blind group. No differences were found in the position of the head in relation to the cervical column between the two groups.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)