RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FORWARD POSITION OF THE HEAD AND THICKNESS OF THE CERVICAL MUSCLES: CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Abstract

Introduction: the forward head position is a postural misalignment that seems to explain changes at structural and anatomical level of the cervical region, by measuring key points such as the vertebra-cervical angle and the thickness of the anterior and posterior neck muscles. However, there is little evidence on the ability to detect these changes. Objectives: to measure and compare differences in thickness of the long neck (LC) and sternocleidomastoid (ECM) muscles in subjects with forward position of the head and subjects with correct alignment. Mate-rial and method: a descriptive and cross-sectional study with two groups of participants (n = 20) between 20 and 35 years old. Subjects were divided according to the presence or absence of the forward position of the head, ta-king as a reference the cranio-vertebral angle measured when standing using the Forward Head Posture (FHP)Neck Exercises Center application. Also, ultrasound measurements of the ECM and LC muscles, and of the pos-terior cervical musculature, were performed with a Logiq S7 Expert R3 ultrasound machine. Results: the groups did not show statistically significant differences in demographic variables, except in the cranio-vertebral angle (p < 0.001). Although there were changes in the values of the thickness of the left LC muscle (U = 49; p = 0.940) and cervical extensors on the right side (U = 36; p = 0.290), they were not statistically significant, indicating the absence of differences between the groups. Conclusion: the forward position of the head does not imply changes in the thick-ness of the superficial and deep cervical flexor and extensor muscles.