Normal ranges of passive cervical motion for women and men 20-60 years old.

OBJECTIVE: To define normal ranges of passive cervical motion for 20-60-yr-olds.

DESIGN: A survey of 90 asymptomatic white-collar workers.

SETTING: A local government administrative headquarters.

PARTICIPANTS: Ninety healthy volunteers, recruited through in-house advertisements among the employees at the Funen County Hall (Denmark).

INTERVENTION: Measurement of range of motion using a strap-on head goniometer.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Passive range of cervical motion from one extreme to the other in three planes: frontal, sagittal and horizontal.

RESULTS: Statistically significant differences were found between the two genders; normal ranges for both women and men are therefore given. We also found that increasing age meant decreasing passive range of motion and that this decrease in motion was well described by a simple linear regression. As a result, normal passive range of motion was described as an interval of +/- 2 SD around the regression means for passive cervical motion in three planes (sagittal, frontal and horizontal) for men and for women in the age range of 20-60 yr.

CONCLUSIONS: Normal ranges of passive cervical motion have been generated. The importance of following the appropriated measurement protocols when using such normal ranges is stressed.