The Roles of Cervical Muscles and Spinal Column on the Neck Stability
Date Issued
2008
Date
2008
Author(s)
Cheng, Chih-Hsiu
Abstract
Stabilization of cervical spine is required in daily life activities to protect the neck-head complex. Maintaining the stability of spine relies on proper muscle activations and spinal column function. However, the redundant musculoskeletal system makes it difficult to understand the effect of cervical muscle recruitments and intrinsic resistance of spine mainly provided by intervertebral discs on the spinal stability. Therefore, the primary purpose of this dissertation was to investigate the roles of cervical muscles and spinal column on the stability of cervical spine. his dissertation included both in vivo and in vitro experiments. Two electromyographic data analysis methods (co-contraction ratio and voluntary response index) were used for clinical studies to evaluate the cervical muscle activation pattern of healthy subjects and patients with chronic neck pain during neck motions. The spine testing apparatus was used for the in vitro experiment to examine the effects of subfailure of two stabilization systems (muscle dysfunction and disc degeneration) on the cervical spine stability. he results from in vivo experiments indicated that the activation level and control pattern of cervical muscles were affected by movement speeds and directions and that the cervical spine stability may decrease during faster movements. Besides, patients with chronic neck pain demonstrated impaired position accuracy and altered EMG pattern during reposition from either flexed or extended head position. The results from in vitro experiment indicated that muscle dysfunction had a significantly greater effect on spinal stability when compared to disc degeneration. n conclusion, the electromyographic patterns of healthy subjects in this dissertation revealed the normal muscle activation pattern in maintaining the spinal stability. The poor position accuracy in patients during reposition movements could be attributed to the altered neuromuscular control patterns. The in vitro experiment showed how the spinal stability was affected by the muscle dysfunction and disc degeneration. Future studies are needed to investigate the association between the in vivo and the in vitro measurements.
Subjects
cervical spine
stability
cervical muscle
electromyography
neck motion
Type
thesis
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