Relationship of head posture and the rest position of the mandible

Clinical Measurement of Head and Shoulder Posture Variables

“…Shiau and Chai took the same angular measurement of 28 nonpatients and 50 patients using angular measures from photographs and found the patient mean to be 54" and the nonpatient mean to be 56.7" (23). Shiau and Chai (23) found this angle to be increased in the nonpatient sample and Darling et a1 (6) found this angle to increase as the patient corrected forward head posture. Similarly, in this study, a slight negative correlation was found between the magnitude of the anterior translation of the head and the angular measure.…”

“…Several authors have described logical reasons as to why anterior translation of the head and shoulders in relation to the body may contribute to pain in the upper body. Emphasis in these discussions is on the potential stresses created as a result of imbalances in connective tissue length or muscle strength and on the potential stresses placed on joint structures when the head or shoulder is positioned anteriorly (6,7,11,12,17,21,22). Further descriptions exist in the literature to relate anterior head positioning to dysfunction of the temporomandibular joint (6,21), inadequacy of respiratory airway (15), and visual deviations (24).…”

Regulation of Mandibular Postures: Mechanisms and Clinical Implications

“…It seems that a similar decrease in free-way space can be observed when the head is positioned anteriorly (Goldstein et al, 1984). Physiotherapy aimed at re-educating an anterior head posture causes an increase in free-way space that lasts for approximately one month after termination of treatment (Ayub et al, 1984;Darling et al, 1984). It should be noted that, for a jaw opening that approximates the free-way space value, no modification in maximal bite force is recorded, whether the head is in an upright, flexed, or extended position (Fields et al, 1986).…”

Reliability of Measuring Forward Head Posture in a Clinical Setting

“…Subjective analysis of posture o r cervical range of motion (2.1 8,23), objective assessment of cervical range of motion (6,7,13), objective assessment of photographs (5,17). radiographic imaging (1 0, 16,22), and moire fringe contourography (8,9) have been used to assess head, neck, and shoulder positions.…”