The Relationship of Forward Head Posture and Rounded Shoul-ders with Neck Pain in Iranian Office Workers

Background: Office workers spend a long period of time behind a computer during working hours. The relation between the posture of sitting during work with computer and neck pain is still debatable. Even though some researchers claim a significant difference in head posture between patients with neck pain and pain-free partic-ipants, the FHP (forward head posture) has not always been associated with neck pain in literature. So, the pur-pose of this study was to discover the relationship between neck pain and improper posture in the head, cervi-cothoracic spine and shoulders. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study to explore the relationships between neck pains, sagittal postures of cervical and thoracic spine and shoulders among office workers in two positions, straight looking forward and working position. 46 subjects without neck pain and 55 subjects with neck pain were evaluated using a photo-graphic method. Thoracic and cervical postures were measured by the HT (High Thoracic), CV (Cranioverte-bral) angles respectively. Shoulder’s posture was evaluated in the sagittal plane by the acromion protrusion. Results: HT and CV angles were positively correlated with the presence of neck pain only in working position (p < 0.05). In straight looking forward position there was no significant difference between the two groups statis-tically (p > 0.05). The difference of shoulder protrusion between symptomatic and asymptomatic groups was not significant. Conclusion: FHP and thoracic kyphosis were accompanied with neck pain. But shoulder posture was not cor-related with neck pain.