Measurement Issue in Antecollis

Abstract

Background: Antecollis is defined as an involuntary forward flexion of the neck. Previous reports have measured the neck flexion angles based on the line perpendicular to the ground. This led to an inflation of the neck flexion angles in patients who had combined forward truncal flexions, especially upper camptocormia. Methods:We examined the neck flexion angles and the upper camptocormia angle in the published photographs of antecollis. MEDLINE search was conducted using the following search terms: antecollis OR anterocollis. Lateral-view photographs of patients diagnosed with antecollis were collected. Neck flexion angles were measured with the classic 'perpendicular method' and the 'antecollis method' we developed.Results: Nine patient photographs were identified. While antecollis was the only described postural abnormality in eight cases, these patients exhibited upper camptocormia angles of 45° or larger. The mean neck flexion angle measured with the antecollis method was 49.7°, while the perpendicular method yielded 103.4°.Discussion: Upper camptocormia should be considered in the evaluation of antecollis. We propose a new method to measure neck flexion in relation to the torso, instead of the vertical line.

Significant improvement after sensory tricks and trunk strength training for Parkinson’s disease with Antecollis and Camptocormia: a case report and literature review

“…PD coronal posture abnormalities include Pisa syndrome and scoliosis [3]. In 1989, Quinn rst noted Camptocormia in the Lancet [4], de ned as 45° anterior exion above C7 [5]. The incidence occurs in 5 to 7 percent of patients with PD [6,7].…”