Relationship between forward head posture and diagnosed internal derangement of the temporomandibular joint.

The purpose of this study was to determine if a sample of patients with internal derangement of the temporomandibular joint had a significantly greater amount of forward head posture than did an age- and gender-matched control group. Twenty-two patients at a single head, neck, and temporomandibular joint treatment center, who had the diagnosis of internal derangement of the temporomandibular joint, were compared with a control group of volunteers. The angle of each patient's head position was measured from four photographs (two of the patient sitting and two of the patient standing) with a diagonal line drawn from the spinous process of the seventh cervical vertebra to the tragus of the ear and a horizontal line drawn perpendicular to a plumb line suspended from the ceiling. The angles measured from each of the four photographs were averaged, and this figure was paired with that generated from an age- and gender-matched person in the control group. Results indicated that there was not a significantly greater degree of forward head posture in the experimental group.