Comparison of pulmonary functions in young adults with normal versus forward head posture

Abstract

Background: Body posture refers to the position of a person’s body in space, the alignment of body parts in relationship to one another and to the environment at one point in time. Different postures such as forward head posture and kyphosis have been shown to alter breathing mechanism. Pulmonary function test is an important tool in the investigation of patients with respiratory pathology. Methods: A comparative study was conducted at vikhe patil memorial hospital and college, Ahmednagar. The craniovertebral angle and Pulmonary function test was taken on 40 adults. Results: The study show that Forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume in 1 second and Peak Expiratory Flow Rate were significantly lower in the forward head posture group than in the normal group. The FEV1/FVC ratio was more in the forward head posture group than in the normal group. A positive correlation was observed between the Craniovertebral angle and the forced Expiratory Volume in 1 sec (r=0.058). while a negative correlation was observed between the Craniovertebral angle and Forced Vital Capacity (r=–0.012) and also observed between the Craniovertebral angle and Peak Expiratory Flow Rate (r= -0.189). Conclusion: The pulmonary functions showed significant reduction in Young adults with Forward head posture as compared to normal craniovertebral angle. There is positive correlation was observed between the Craniovertebral angle and the forced Expiratory Volume in 1 sec. while a negative correlation was observed between the Craniovertebral angle and Forced Vital Capacity and between craniovertebral angle and Peak Expiratory Floe Rate.