Cargando…

Sensorimotor function of the cervical spine in healthy volunteers

BACKGROUND: Sensorimotor mechanisms are important for controlling head motion. However, relatively little is known about sensorimotor function in the cervical spine. This study investigated how age, gender and variations in the test conditions affect measures of position sense, movement sense and re...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Artz, Neil J., Adams, Michael A., Dolan, Patricia
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Elsevier Science 2015
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4372261/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25686675
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.clinbiomech.2015.01.005
_version_ 1782363148382109696
author Artz, Neil J.
Adams, Michael A.
Dolan, Patricia
author_facet Artz, Neil J.
Adams, Michael A.
Dolan, Patricia
author_sort Artz, Neil J.
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: Sensorimotor mechanisms are important for controlling head motion. However, relatively little is known about sensorimotor function in the cervical spine. This study investigated how age, gender and variations in the test conditions affect measures of position sense, movement sense and reflex activation in cervical muscles. METHODS: Forty healthy volunteers (19M/21F, aged 19–59 years) participated. Position sense was assessed by determining repositioning errors in upright and flexed neck postures during tests performed in 25%, 50% and 75% cervical flexion. Movement sense was assessed by detecting thresholds to passive flexion and extension at velocities between 1 and 25°s(− 1). Reflexes were assessed by determining the latency and amplitude of reflex activation in trapezius and sternocleidomastoid muscles. Reliability was evaluated from intraclass correlation coefficients. FINDINGS: Mean repositioning errors ranged from 1.5° to 2.6°, were greater in flexed than upright postures (P = 0.006) and in people aged over 25 years (P = 0.05). Time to detect head motion decreased with increasing velocity (P < 0.001) and was lower during flexion than extension movements (P = 0.002). Reflexes demonstrated shorter latency (P < 0.001) and greater amplitude (P = 0.009) in trapezius compared to sternocleidomastoid, and became slower and weaker with age. None of the measures were influenced by gender. Reliability was good for movement sense measures, but was influenced by the test conditions when assessing position sense. INTERPRETATION: Increased repositioning errors and slower reflexes in older subjects suggest that sensorimotor function in the cervical spine becomes impaired with age. In position sense tests, reliability was influenced by the test conditions with mid-range flexion movements, performed in standing, providing the most reliable measurements.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-4372261
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2015
publisher Elsevier Science
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-43722612015-04-01 Sensorimotor function of the cervical spine in healthy volunteers Artz, Neil J. Adams, Michael A. Dolan, Patricia Clin Biomech (Bristol, Avon) Article BACKGROUND: Sensorimotor mechanisms are important for controlling head motion. However, relatively little is known about sensorimotor function in the cervical spine. This study investigated how age, gender and variations in the test conditions affect measures of position sense, movement sense and reflex activation in cervical muscles. METHODS: Forty healthy volunteers (19M/21F, aged 19–59 years) participated. Position sense was assessed by determining repositioning errors in upright and flexed neck postures during tests performed in 25%, 50% and 75% cervical flexion. Movement sense was assessed by detecting thresholds to passive flexion and extension at velocities between 1 and 25°s(− 1). Reflexes were assessed by determining the latency and amplitude of reflex activation in trapezius and sternocleidomastoid muscles. Reliability was evaluated from intraclass correlation coefficients. FINDINGS: Mean repositioning errors ranged from 1.5° to 2.6°, were greater in flexed than upright postures (P = 0.006) and in people aged over 25 years (P = 0.05). Time to detect head motion decreased with increasing velocity (P < 0.001) and was lower during flexion than extension movements (P = 0.002). Reflexes demonstrated shorter latency (P < 0.001) and greater amplitude (P = 0.009) in trapezius compared to sternocleidomastoid, and became slower and weaker with age. None of the measures were influenced by gender. Reliability was good for movement sense measures, but was influenced by the test conditions when assessing position sense. INTERPRETATION: Increased repositioning errors and slower reflexes in older subjects suggest that sensorimotor function in the cervical spine becomes impaired with age. In position sense tests, reliability was influenced by the test conditions with mid-range flexion movements, performed in standing, providing the most reliable measurements. Elsevier Science 2015-03 /pmc/articles/PMC4372261/ /pubmed/25686675 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.clinbiomech.2015.01.005 Text en © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Artz, Neil J.
Adams, Michael A.
Dolan, Patricia
Sensorimotor function of the cervical spine in healthy volunteers
title Sensorimotor function of the cervical spine in healthy volunteers
title_full Sensorimotor function of the cervical spine in healthy volunteers
title_fullStr Sensorimotor function of the cervical spine in healthy volunteers
title_full_unstemmed Sensorimotor function of the cervical spine in healthy volunteers
title_short Sensorimotor function of the cervical spine in healthy volunteers
title_sort sensorimotor function of the cervical spine in healthy volunteers
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4372261/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25686675
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.clinbiomech.2015.01.005
work_keys_str_mv AT artzneilj sensorimotorfunctionofthecervicalspineinhealthyvolunteers
AT adamsmichaela sensorimotorfunctionofthecervicalspineinhealthyvolunteers
AT dolanpatricia sensorimotorfunctionofthecervicalspineinhealthyvolunteers