The effect of age and sex on the cervical range of motion - A systematic review and meta-analysis

摘要

Cervical-flexibility examination is routinely performed in neck-pain patients. However, diagnosis of cervical-flexibility impairment requires physiological reference values, which vary widely among the population. Although there is a general understanding that the cervical range of motion (RoM) alters with age and sex, the consolidated details of these variations remain lacking. A systematic review and meta analysis was performed to evaluate the difference of cervical RoM in different age and sex populations. The quality-assessment tool for quantitative studies was applied to assess methodological quality.