Abstract

Background of the study: Tailors are creative workers who stitch clothing and have exceptional machine and hand abilities. These employees who operate in a hunched posture for extended periods of time impair tension, stretching and ligaments around neck. Reduced hand function in tailors may be caused by forward head posture during sewing. Objective: To find the association between forward head posture and hand function in tailors. Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted on 29 subjects aged between 40–65 years, who met with inclusion criteria. Based on the experience, the subjects were grouped into three classes of Skilled tailors, Expert tailors, and Master tailors. The forward head posture and hand function were assessed by craniovertebral angle [CVA] and nine-hole peg test [NHPT] respectively. The obtained data was statistically evaluated to find out whether forward head posture was correlated with hand function in tailors. Results: The mean scores obtained for CVA and Hand Function were 45.18 ± 7.87, 29.89 ± 5.21, respectively. Pearson correlation coefficient was computed to assess the correlation between the obtained variables among skilled, expert and master tailors. The obtained correlational values were [r = -0.244] in skilled tailors and [r = -0.272] in expert tailors, whereas a weak positive correlation [r = 0.279] in master tailors. This shows there was no significant correlation between hand function and forward head posture in tailors. Conclusion: The study concluded that there was no correlation between forward head posture and hand function in tailors.

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