A patient presents with a right abduction deficit. What is the expected direction of their compensatory head turn?

• A. Left head turn
• B. Right head turn
• C. No head turn
• D. Upward head tilt

Answer: (B)

When a horizontal gaze muscle is weak on one side, the person often adopts a head posture toward the side of the lesion to minimize diplopia. A right abduction deficit means the right lateral rectus is weak, making outward movement of the right eye difficult. Turning the head to the right brings the eyes into a position where the intact muscles can better align the visual axes and reduce double vision, so the compensatory head turn is toward the right. This posture helps maintain single vision when looking toward the right. The other head positions would not optimally reduce diplopia in this scenario.