Thursday, 24 July 2025

A Narrative Review on Various Methods to Assess Forward Head Posture | Chapter 5 | New Horizons of Science, Technology and Culture Vol. 3

 

Background: With the rising demands of computers in the fast-growing Information Technology Industry, the number of hours spent working on computers has also been drastically increased. Individuals spend more time on the computer in a day in recent times, which results in poor posture, causing neck pain. This in turn have lead to increase in the number of work-related musculoskeletal problems related to neck and upper limbs as sitting with the forward head posture in front of computers lead to changes in cervical spine curvature, which if continued for longer duration can lead to Cervical spine degeneration which can thereby lead to forward head posture, during which the head remains forward to the body’s line of gravity. It may lead to degenerative changes in the joints of the cervical spine and may cause forward head posture. Forward-headed posture is common in all age groups, more prominently found in 25-50 years of age, and can be measured by assessing the Craniovertebral angle (CVA).

 

Aim: The purpose of this article is to focus on different methods used to measure the CVA, thereby measuring the forward head posture.

 

Methodology: The PUBMED and the other search engines/databases (Cochrane database / EMBASE / PEDro / CINAHL) were searched. The keywords used were – Craniovertebral angle, forward head posture, Computer workers, Neck pain, neck posture. Studies including CVA & forward head posture assessment were included. Studies done before 2003 were excluded.

 

Results: A Total of 22 relevant studies were found. After removing the duplicates, articles with abstract only and articles published in a language other than English, 12 relevant studies meeting the Inclusion criteria were reviewed in detail as they measured CVA for assessment of Forward head posture & neck posture.A study concluded that the photographic method used in the study showed a high intra-rater and inter-rater reliability in measuring the sagittal postures of the thoracic and cervical spine (ICCs ranged from 0.80 to 0.87). A study concluded that the intra-rater reliability (ICC) of the Modified Head Posture Spinal Curvature Instrument (MHPSCI) is 0.87 (CI range from 0.82–0.91) and the inter-rater reliability between the two raters is 0.76 (CI range from 0.65–0.84) which is graded as “good” in the reliability criteria.

 

Conclusion: With this review it is found that the FHP assessment for CVA is valid and reliable outcome measure. There are different methodologies that are used to assess the CVA which are reliable and valid.

 

Author(s) Details

Noel Samuel Macwan
College of Physiotherapy, Sumandeep Vidyapeeth, Piparia, Waghodia, Vadodara, Gujarat 391760, India.

 

Tanvi Ashvinbhai Radadiya
College of Physiotherapy, Sumandeep Vidyapeeth, Piparia, Waghodia, Vadodara, Gujarat 391760, India.

 

Please see the book here:- https://doi.org/10.9734/bpi/nhstc/v3/5963

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