Assessment of hand grip strength and wrist proprioception in individuals with forward head posture

Background and purpose Forward head position is among the most prevalent forms of bodily misalignment., which may affect hand grip strength, upper limb proprioception, or develop neck or entire upper extremity joints pain, impair the activity of daily living. Purpose: To assess the wrist proprioception (joint position sense) and handgrip strength in individuals with forward head posture compared healthy age-matched volunteers. Material and methods Fifty two participants divided into 2 groups; group (A) 26 individuals with forward head posture & group (B) 26 healthy, age-matched participants were used in this comparative cross-sectional research; cranio-vertebral angle was detected via forward head posture application (Pyeongtaek, South Korea), handgrip strength was assessed via Hand Dynamometer and wrist proprioception (joint position sense) was assessed via Electro goniometer. Unpaired t test compared handgrip strength and wrist proprioception (joint position sense) between groups. Also, Pearson correlation coefficient correlation was made to obtain the relation between the cranio-vertebral angle and wrist proprioception. Results There was no significant difference in hand grip strength between groups at (p > 0.05), while a significant difference in wrist joint proprioception was found between groups at (p < 0.01). Also, there was a significant correlation between the cranio-vertebral angle and handgrip strength, however there is no significant correlation between the cranio-vertebral angle and wrist proprioception. Conclusion In terms of hand grip strength, there was no statistically significant difference between groups, however there was a moderate positive significant correlation between cranio-vertebral angle and hand grip strength in individual with forward head posture, Statistically speaking, there was a large disparity in wrist joint proprioception (joint position sense) between individuals between groups ,but there was no correlation between cranio-vertebral angle and wrist proprioception (joint position sense).