The impact of suboccipital muscle inhibition on postural stability in young individuals

Abstract

Introduction. Postural stability is the result of cooperation between the musculoskeletal and nervous systems. The stability of standing posture ensures the spatial arrangement of the body, where the center of gravity falls within the center of the support base. FHT (Forward Head Posture) increases the extension in the occipito-cervical joint and upper cervical spine, deepening the flexion of the lower cervical segment, causing improper contraction of the suboccipital muscles. Disorders in the tone of the suboccipital muscles may affect the balance. Objective. The research hypothesis was made that a single 4-minute suboccipital muscle inhibition procedure influences the change in postural stability values with open and closed eyes in individuals with cranio vertebral angle (CVA) within the normal range and below. Materials and Methods. Healthy participants (10 women and 8 men) with an age of 22.7 ± 0.58. The participants took part in the study. They were classified into research groups based on the CVA angle assessment. Postural stability analysis used the Koordynacja stabilometric platform. Measurements were taken with open and closed eyes, before and immediately after suboccipital muscle inhibition. Results. The suboccipital muscle inhibition was observed to affect anterior-posterior (A-P) displacements in group A (CVA < 50) p-value = 0.0168, with no significant impact in group B (CVA ≥ 50), p-value = 0.3695. Conclusion. A single 4-minute suboccipital muscle inhibition procedure does not significantly influence postural stability parameters in the examined groups, except for A-P displacements with open eyes in the CVA < 50 group.