• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.71-82
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• 2016

PURPOSE: The purpose of this case report was to determine the effect of therapeutic exercise on posture, pain, and muscle activity in two patients with forward head posture (FHP). METHODS: A-31-year-old male (patient A) and a 19-year-old women (patient B) presented with FHP, neck pain, and headache. The therapeutic exercise program consisted of cervical mobilization, deep cervical flexors strengthening, and cervical extensors stretching, for 40 min/d, 2 d/week, for 8 weeks. Neck pain (VAS), neck disability (NDI), cervical range of motion (CROM), lateral view of cervical spine X-ray (indicating the FHP), and asymmetrical neck and shoulder muscular activity ratio were measured before, after 4 weeks, and after 8 weeks of corrective exercise. RESULTS: VAS and NDI decreased in patients A and B after exercise compared to before the program. CROM increased in patients A and B at flexion, extension, side bending, and rotation after exercise compared to before the program. FHP decreased in patients A and B at distance after exercise compared to before the program. In addition, asymmetrical neck and shoulder muscles activity ratio improved in patients A and B after exercise compared to before the program. CONCLUSION: We demonstrated in a case report that therapeutic exercise increases ROM, decreases pain and disability of neck, FHP, and asymmetry muscle activity ratio in patients with FHP. These finding have clinical implications for therapeutic exercise in patients with FHP.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.103-113
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• 1990

The role of cervical proprioceptors in the control of body posture was studied in bilaterally labyrinth-ectomized, decerebrate cats. The animals were suspended on hip pins with the neck extended horizontally. With this placement the EMG activities of extensor and flexor muscles of the upper extremities were observed by means of sinusoidal head rotator. The rotator can induce two kinds of neck movement: The one is 'pitch' which describes a rotatory neck motion to transverse axis of the body and mainly occurs at skull-C1 (atlantooccipital) joint and the other is 'roll', side-to-side relation of the neck to longitudinal axis, whose center is C1-C2 (atlanto-axial) joint. The following results were obtained. 1) Responses of EMG activity were closely dependent on the rotatory range of the neck. And the EMG activity was not changed during sustained neck torsion, eliciting a typical tonic neck reflex. 2) On pitching movement, the head-up rotation produced the excitation of bilateral triceps muscles, whereas the head-down rotation produced the inhibition. And the response of bilateral biceps muscles was the opposite to that of triceps. 3) On rolling movement, the side-up rotation of the head produced the excitation of ipsilateral triceps muscles and the inhibition of contralateral ones. And the response of biceps muscles was the opposite to that of triceps. 4) The minimum requirement of motion to evoke EMG activities in the upper extremities was $3.2^{\circ}{\sim}12.5^{\circ}$. These results have shown that the cervical proprioceptors produce tonic discharge on the upper brachial muscles, regulate the EMG activities of those muscles, and are very sensitive to neck rotation. And it can be stated that the cervical proprioceptors may play an important role in the control of body posture and movement.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.503-517
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• 2016

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of 3 dimensional contoured pillow through analyzing contact pressure and to suggest its design guidelines through analyzing the posture of head and neck area. Background: The quality of sleep is a very important factor closely related with human's health. To improve the quality of sleep, the verification of design factors affecting the posture of the head and neck is needed, and a pillow design that can induce proper posture is required. Method: This study measured the contact pressures of the two reference groups (bead and cotton pillows) as a method to evaluate the design effectiveness of the contoured pillow. This study proposed 3-dimensional design guidelines by drawing anthropometry (head length) affecting cervical curvature angle (CCA) through the measurement of the participants' cervical curvature angles. Results: In the design effectiveness evaluation, the contact pressure of cervical region was higher than that of a reference group (cotton pillow), and contract area increased, and contract pressure decreased in the shape distributing the occipital region's body pressure. This study proposed pillow's cervical supporting height by percentile of a head length [head length (%tile) (cervical supporting height) affecting the posture of the head and neck: 14.6cm (5%tile) (6.2cm), 15.5cm (25%tile) (6.7cm), 16.4cm (50%tile) (7.1cm), and 19.3cm (75%tile) (8.9cm)]. Conclusion: This study confirmed the contoured pillow's design effectiveness maintaining cervical angle comfortable to sleep with the shape supporting the cervical vertebrae and by reducing the contact load of the occipital region. Also, this study proposed pillow design guidelines based on the 3-dimensional contoured pillow design effectiveness, through which the study laid the foundation for pillow design in a systematic method. Application: The results of this study are expected to be utilized as the basis data by which the optimum pillow type and pillow design according to main percentile can be standardized.

• Journal of Korean Society of Neurocognitive Rehabilitation
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.19-26
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• 2018

Many people do not realize that they have poor neck posture. Incorrect forward head posture can lead to turtle neck. This aim to development of specific chair to reduce tension and other symptoms of turtle neck posture. This turtle neck syndrome adjusting chair is a chair that supports the hip and shin of a person to help them correct their posture. It is consisted of the shin support that supports the shin in an angle and the hip support that supports one's hip while the shin is supported at an angle, the main frame that has the two of them connected and the fluid seat that is joined at the top of the hip support and reacts accordingly to the shape of the hip. This is a posture correction chair which has the fluid seat that provides unstable hip support so that it can allow a person to realize their posture from the constant stimulation about the posture. When one seats on the posture correction chair, their hip and shin are supported at an angle that straitens their back, and as their back is straightened, their shoulders and chest are opened, and the neck is positioned at the middle to help them correct their posture. An unbalanced posture causes discomfort to the person seated at the chair, and the person sitting on the posture correction chair will continuously adjust his/her posture to balance the hips to keep the correct posture. Through this process, the person shall adjust his/her left and right posture, ultimately increasing the effectiveness of posture correction. A future collective study on the continuous posture correction of people having turtle neck syndrome using this posture correction chair is required.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.16 no.11
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• pp.543-551
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• 2018

This study investigated the effects of corrective exercise and TECAR on cervical alignment, pain threshold, and pain in forward head posture patients. The subject includes 30 forward head posture patients. In the intervention methods, the experimental group combined corrective exercise and TECAR treatment. Only the corrective exercise was applied to the control group. Assessments were made on cervico vertebra angle (CV angle), pain pressure threshold (PPT) and neck disability index (NDI) visual analog scale (VAS). The intervention was conducted six times a week for two weeks. Both groups showed significant differences in CV angle, PPT, NDI, and VAS. Also, PPT, NDI, and VAS excluding CV angle were significantly improved in the study group compared to the control group. These results suggest that the intervention method that combines corrective exercise and TECAR treatment has a more positive effect on pain and ADL ability of forward head posture patient.

• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.129-135
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• 2021

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship of the head posture with the tone and stiffness of the cervical extensor muscles. Eighty adults in their twenties were chosen as subjects, and the tone and stiffness of the cervical extensor muscles were measured, with their usual head posture in the sagittal plane. For the measured head posture, the craniovertebral angle (CVA), craniorotation angle (CRA), and forward shoulder angle (FSA) were analyzed using Image J. It was observed that the tone and stiffness of the upper trapezius muscle increased significantly with a decrease in the CVA as well as with an increase in the CRA (p < 0.05). As a result of further classification into the normal and forward head postures based on the CVA of the subjects, the forward head posture was characterized by a significant increase in the tone and stiffness of the upper trapezius muscle (p<.05). The results of this study are expected to be used as basic data for the evaluation of the forward head posture and posture education in clinical practice.

• Proceedings of the ESK Conference
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• 1996.04a
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• pp.291-300
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• 1996

This study is to determine the biomechanical characteristics of Korean. Male 58 and Female 54 were participated for the measurement which was performed by immersion method and reaction board method. Body parts were head with neck, trunk, upper arm, forearm, hand, thigh, leg, and foot. Their volumes were measures by immersion method. Their weight were determined by using Dempster(1995), Drills and Contini(1969) density data. Each center of body part weight were determined by specific posture on the reaction board. The postures were asked to the subject forearm- lifted posture, total let- lifted posture, foot-lifted posture. According to each posture, the center of each part were calculated.

• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
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• v.29 no.8
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• pp.93-101
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• 2024

The purpose of this study was to the effects of a cervical stabilization exercise using pressure biofeedback intervention on suboccipital muscle tone, deep neck flexor muscle endurance, and craniovertebral angle in college students with forward head posture. The subjects of the study were selected as BCSEG(n=12) and CG(n=12), and the intervention was performed for 50 minutes, 3 times a week for 8 weeks. The results of the study showed that after biofeedback neck stabilization exercises, the suboccipital muscle significantly decreased in stiffness and muscle tone in the BCSEG(p<.01), and the deep neck flexors significantly increased in muscle endurance(p<.01) and craniovertebral angle(p<.01). The results of the cervical stabilization exercises with biofeedback are thought to improve cranio- vertebral angle by improving muscle function of the suboccipital muscles and deep neck flexors, which cervical stabilization exercises with biofeedback may be suggested as an intervention to improve FHP.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapy
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.41-49
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• 2022

Background: In patients with forward head posture (FHP), the head is positioned forward, causing increased tension in the muscles and structures of the head, neck, and shoulders. This can result in joint dysfunction that may lead to abnormal afferent information. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect on foot pressure through the isometric hip abduction (IHA) bridge exercise using elastic bands in patients with FHP. Methods: Twenty patients with FHP were randomly assigned to a study group that applied joint mobilization, soft tissue mobilization, a deep neck flexor strengthening exercise, and the IHA bridge exercise using an elastic band. A control group was also constituted, and members were given joint mobilization, soft tissue mobilization therapies, and the deep neck flexor strengthening exercise. Ten patients were assigned to each group. The static foot pressure and dynamic foot pressure of each patient were measured before and after the intervention, and the interventions for each group were applied twice a week for 4 weeks. Results: Both the study group and the control group showed significant differences in static and dynamic foot pressure before and after the interventions (p<.05). There were no significant differences in foot pressure between the study and control groups. Conclusion: : The results of this study revealed that there were no significant differences between the group doing the IHA bridge exercise using the elastic band and the control group. However, the intervention methods applied to both the groups were effective in improving the body center control of FHP patients.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.8 no.6
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• pp.151-158
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• 2008

Poor posture of the neck and head has long been recognized as a factor contributing to the onset and perpetuation of pain in the head and neck region. This study were to evaluate the change of the neck pressure pain threshold in long term computer users. To elucidate change of the neck pressure pain threshold in long term computer users, the effect of computer using time(3, 6, 9, 12 and 15 hours) on neck pressure pain threshold were studied in 20 subjects. Neck pressure pain threshold were recorded 3, 6, 9, 12 and 15 hours group, and evaluated by pressure algometry to Trapezius muscle, Sternocleidomastoidius muscle, Suboccipitalis muscle and Temporalis muscle. Neck pressure pain threshold was significantly larger in 15 hours group(p<.05). But relation between neck pressure pain threshold in male group and female group were not significant differences(p>.05).