Journal: Advanced Journal of Nursing DOI: 10.32629/ajn.v7i3.5566
Abstract
Degenerative cervical disease is commonly evaluated for disc degeneration, stenosis, and neural compression. Sagittal alignment, however, is also relevant to cervical function. A reduction in cervical lordosis or forward translation of the head changes how loads are distributed across the neck. Deep cervical muscles contribute to segmental control, and their recruitment and morphology may change with altered alignment. Current evidence, however, does not establish a causal relationship. Assessment may therefore combine the C2-C7 Cobb angle, cervical sagittal vertical axis (cSVA), and T1 slope (T1S) with dynamic imaging and MRI evaluation of cervical muscles. This review examines sagittal imbalance, cervical muscle dysfunction, and their implications for rehabilitation. Particular attention is given to deep-muscle training and multi-angle resistance exercise, whose clinical value requires further evaluation.
Keywords
cervical degeneration; sagittal balance; deep cervical muscles; biomechanics; imaging; rehabilitation
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Copyright © 2026 Chaoyue Wang, Zixuan Fu, Jiafeng Gao, Xinyan Zhou, Meiting Sun
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