Original articleIs There Altered Activity of the Extensor Muscles in Chronic Mechanical Neck Pain? A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study
Section snippets
Participants
Twelve volunteers with chronic mechanical neck pain participated in the study including, 10 women (mean age ± SD, 26.9±5.5y) and 2 men (mean age ± SD, 29.5±6.4y). The group mean age ± SD was 27.3±5.4 years and the group mean body mass index (BMI) ± SD was 23.1±5.4kg/m2. Participants were recruited via advertising throughout the local community. Data for the 12 participants with mechanical neck pain were compared with data recorded from 11 healthy participants from our previous study using
Results
Table 1 displays the T2 values at rest and after exercise calculated for all muscles and levels in the chronic mechanical neck pain and healthy control groups. There were no significant differences in group characteristics at baseline (age, P=0.26; BMI, P=0.74) or in T2 values at rest between the control and mechanical neck pain group, except for the SpC muscle at the C7-T1 level (P=0.003). To account for this, the T2 rest values for the SpC muscle at the C7-T1 level were included as a
Discussion
This study suggests some alteration in the differential activation of the cervical extensor muscles in patients with mechanical neck pain in response to a cervical extension exercise compared with healthy controls using mfMRI. The response, however, was dependent on the type of exercise performed. As indicated in figure 2, post hoc tests revealed that differences were only evident for the CCN exercise condition, and were only seen in 3 of the 7 muscle ROIs examined during the CCN exercise. When
Conclusions
In this study, mfMRI recordings of T2 shifts induced in cervical extensor muscles were compared between participants with chronic nontraumatic mechanical neck pain and healthy controls after the performance of exercises for the neck extensor muscles. Compared with the healthy controls, less activity was observed in the Mul/SCe and SpC muscles low in the cervical spine during the CCN exercise condition. This may represent a change in motor strategy of the cervical extensor muscles during the
References (40)
- et al.
The annual incidence and course of neck pain in the general population: a population-based cohort study
Pain
(2004) - et al.
MRI study of the cross-sectional area for the cervical extensor musculature in patients with persistent whiplash associated disorders (WAD)
Man Ther
(2008) Reliability of ultrasonography for the cervical multifidus muscle in asymptomatic and symptomatic subjects
Man Ther
(2004)- et al.
Differences in isometric neck muscle strength between healthy controls and women with chronic neck pain: the use of a reliable measurement
Arch Phys Med Rehabil
(2007) - et al.
Neck muscle endurance, self-report, and range of motion data from subjects with treated and untreated neck pain
J Manipulative Physiol Ther
(2005) - et al.
Neck muscle endurance in nonspecific patients with neck pain and in patients after anterior cervical decompression and fusion
J Manipulative Physiol Ther
(2007) - et al.
A magnetic resonance imaging investigation into the function of the deep cervical flexors during the performance of craniocervical flexion
J Manipulative Physiol Ther
(2010) - et al.
Craniocervical orientation affects muscle activation when exercising the cervical extensors in healthy subjects
Arch Phys Med Rehabil
(2010) - et al.
Craniocervical orientation affects muscle activation when exercising the cervical extensors in healthy subjects
Arch Phys Med Rehabil
(2010) - et al.
Comparison of MRI with EMG to study muscle activity associated with dynamic plantar flexion
Magn Reson Imaging
(2003)
Critical load of the human cervical spine: an in vitro experimental study
Clin Biomech (Bristol, Avon)
Inhibition of motor system excitability at cortical and spinal level by tonic muscle pain
Clin Neurophysiol
Pain induced by low-grade stress in patients with fibromyalgia and chronic shoulder/neck pain, relation to surface electromyography
Eur J Pain
Muscle fiber conduction velocity of the upper trapezius muscle during dynamic contraction of the upper limb in patients with chronic neck pain
Pain
Cervical musculoskeletal impairment in frequent intermittent headachePart 2: subjects with concurrent headache types
Cephalalgia
Cross-sectional area of cervical multifidus muscle in females with chronic bilateral neck pain compared to controls
J Orthop Sports Phys Ther
Magnetic resonance imaging study of the morphometry of cervical extensor muscles in chronic tension-type headache
Cephalalgia
Cervical musculoskeletal impairment in frequent intermittent headachePart 1: subjects with single headaches
Cephalalgia
Whiplash, headache and neck pain: research based directions for physical therapies
Fiber composition and fiber transformations in neck muscles of patients with dysfunction of the cervical spine
J Orthop Res
Cited by (71)
Quantitative analysis of MR T2 relaxation times in neck muscles
2023, Magnetic Resonance ImagingCervicogenic headache
2023, Musculoskeletal Science and PracticeCervical and axioscapular muscle stiffness measured with shear wave elastography: A comparison between different levels of work-related neck disability
2023, Journal of Electromyography and KinesiologyUltrasound shear wave elastography measurement of the deep posterior cervical muscles: Reliability and ability to differentiate between muscle contraction states
2021, Journal of Electromyography and KinesiologyCitation Excerpt :Contraction states in our study were designed to maximally target the cervical multifidus by placing resistance at the C2 spinous process and having the participant perform an isometric cervical retraction movement against the provided resistance. Prior work via MRI has shown increased T2 signal shift with cervical extension from a craniocervical-neutral position for the deep cervical extensors versus a craniocervical-extended position (O’Leary et al., 2011). However, due to the nature of the MRI procedures the imaging was not real time, and the authors noted difficulty with isolating the cervical multifidus from the semispinalis cervicis due to inconsistent fascial boundaries between the muscles (O’Leary et al., 2011).
Ultrasound Investigation of Dorsal Neck Muscle Deformation During a Neck Rotation Exercise
2020, Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics
No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit on the authors or on any organization with which the authors are associated.
Published online April 29, 2011 at www.archives-pmr.org.