Changes in Cervicocephalic Joint Position Sense in Sustained Forward Head Posture

지속적인 전방머리자세 시 머리-목 관절 위치 감각의 변화

Purpose : The aim of this study was to verify differences in cervicocephalic joint position sense error after different sustained sitting postures in healthy young adults. Methods : Twenty-five healthy adults(12 men, 13 women) participated in this study. Repositioning errors of neck movement were observed in participants during joint repositioning tasks. During 2 test days with a 1-week interval, the participants performed forward head posture and upright sitting posture in random order. Both head-to-neutral(HTN) and head-to-target(HTT) tasks were performed on each day. On the first day, the participants sat slouched or upright for 10 minutes. Then, they sat upright and moved their heads at a self-selected speed with their eyes-closed to pre-determined neutral and target positions as accurately as possible. The participants noticed that when they reached a pre-determined position, the errors between pre-determined neutral and target positions and current position was recorded. The tasks consisted of flexion, extension and lateral bending. On the second day, the same test was performed after another sitting posture for 10 minutes. Repositioning error values were collected by using a smart phone-based inclinometer. The mean value for three trials was used for data analysis. A paired t-test was used for statistical analysis. Results : Significant differences in joint repositioning errors were found between the repositioning error after different sitting postures on the sagittal plane for both the HTN and HTT tasks (P<.05). No significant differences in errors on the coronal plane were found (P>.05). Conclusion : Cervicocephalic joint position sense can be affected by sitting postures, especially on the sagittal plane.