Forward Head Posture and Neck Mobility in Chronic Tension-Type Headache

Abstract

Forward head posture (FHP) and neck mobility were objectively assessed in 25 patients with chronic tension-type headache (CTTH) and 25 healthy controls. Side-view pictures were taken in a sitting position to measure the craniovertebral angle. A cervical goniometer was employed to measure the range of all cervical motions. Patients with CTTH showed a smaller cranio-vertebral angle (45.3° ± 7.6°) than controls (54.1° ± 6.3°), thus presenting a greater FHP ( P < 0.001). Patients also had lesser neck mobility for all cervical movements, except for right lateral flexion ( P < 0.01). There was a positive correlation between the craniovertebral angle and neck mobility. Within the CTTH group, a negative correlation was found between the cranio-vertebral angle and headache frequency, but neck mobility did not correlate with headache parameters. Further research is needed to define a potential role of FHP and restricted neck mobility in the origin or maintenance of TTH.