The Cervico-Cephalic Interaction

While the first function of posture is an antigravity function, the second one is to provide an interface with the external world for perception and action. For this reason, body posture is built up by a set of assembled segments with own mass that are linked together by flexible joints controlled by the neuromuscular system. Posture based on the superimposed segments (the head, the trunk and legs) is under the specific automatic central and peripheral control preserving the specific orientation of each segment with respect to gravity and/or to the adjacent segment. The central organization of posture involves interactions between external forces, the mechanical properties of the body and the neuromuscular forces.