Impact of forward head posture and neck pain on activities of daily living and its association with balance in undergraduate medical students

Abstract Background The craniovertebral angle is a measure for assessing head and neck posture. A reduced angle has been observed in people with neck pain and is associated with more forward head posture and greater impact on daily activities. Objective To determine the relationship between forward head posture (craniovertebral angle-CV Angle) and static balance in undergraduate medical students primarily and to find the impact of forward head posture and neck pain on activities of daily living. Methodology A cross-sectional observational analytical study was conducted on 211 participants, both male and female undergraduate medical students from a private medical college in Lahore, Pakistan were included on a predefined eligibility criterion. The CV angle was measured with universal goniometer and static balance was assessed using one leg stand test for both sides three times for thirty seconds. The Northwick Park Neck Pain Questionnaire was used to find the impact on neck pain on daily living. A linear regression was used to express the effect of FHP on the NPQ score and correlation analysis was applied to determine the relationship between FHP and OLST based on the data’s normality. The statistical significance was set at P < 0.05. Results The mean age was 21.49 ± 1.87 years. The incidence of forward head posture in study population was found to be 91.4%. Neck pain was found to be mildly impacting the daily living activities of medical students. CV angle had an inverse but significant relation with performance of daily living activities of medical students. Conclusion Forward head posture was observed in the majority of the study participants; a mild degree of neck pain was found in more than half of them. With increasing forward head posture, activities of daily living were mildly compromised. Additionally, the study found a weak correlation between static balance and forward head posture.