• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2010

Purpose : This research intended to find out the effects of scalenus medius muscle relaxed posture on the increase of head-neck rotation for general adults. Methods : This research was conducted on 30 subjects whose both sides head neck rotation angles are not the same and that agreed to participate in the experiment. In a posture of sitting erectly on a mat, both sides head neck rotation angles were measured with C-ROM equipment, and while supporting arm in direction opposite the side where head neck rotation limited and leaning over the body at 45 degree and neck at vertical condition against ground, head-neck rotation angles were measured each with C-ROM equipment. Results : The Head-Neck rotation angle on the side of limited head-neck rotation demonstrated more increase in scalenus medius relaxed posture than in erect sitting posture, showing significant difference statistically(p<0.05). The head-neck rotation angle on the side of non-limited Head-Neck rotation demonstrated more decrease in scalenus medius relaxed posture than in erect sitting posture, not showing any significant difference statistically (p>0.05). Conclusions : This posture may be used for preventing limit of head-neck rotation caused of scalenus medius muscle tension and increasing head-neck rotation.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.325-328
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• 2020

Purpose: This study examined the effects of the directions of neck rotation position on the muscle activity and strength of the elbow flexor and extensor muscle. Methods: Forty-one healthy adults participated in this study. The subjects were asked to their elbow 90° flexion in three different neck rotations (neutral, ipsilateral, and contralateral) in the sitting position. The muscle activities of the biceps and triceps brachii muscle were measured using surface electromyography. And the muscle strength of the elbow flexor was measured using dynamometer. One way repeated measures ANOVA was used to compare the muscle activity and strength of the elbow flexor and extensor depending on the different neck turning directions. Results: There were significant differences between contralateral neck rotation and ipsilateral neck rotation, contralateral neck rotation and neutral position. But, there was no significant difference in the triceps brachii muscle activity in comparison with the neck rotation. There were significant differences between contralateral neck rotation and ipsilateral neck rotation, contralateral neck rotation and neutral position. Conclusion: To summarize this study, the elbow flexor and extensor muscle activity and strength was highest in the contralateral neck rotation position. In other words, it was possible to confirm the effect of Asymmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex in healthy adults whose primitive reflexes were inhibition, and head and neck positions should be considered during clinical evaluation and treatment.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.425-432
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• 2014

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate that the differences in sternocleidomastoid muscle activity, neck rotation angle, neck lateral bending angle and neck lateral bending onset time between conditions with and without visual biofeedback during neck rotation. METHODS: Ten male and four female adults with condition of forward head posture were recruited in this study. Subjects conducted to left and right maximal neck rotation under the conditions with and without visual biofeedback. During neck rotation, kinematic data of neck rotation, neck lateral bending movement, and electromyography activities of bilateral sternocleidomastold muscles were collected. Differences in dependent variables between conditions with and without visual biofeedback were analyzed using paired t-test. RESULTS: There were significant decreases in lateral bending angle, while lateral bending movement onset time was delayed significantly when applying visual biofeedback (p<.05). However, there were no significant differences in the activation of left and right sternocleidomastoid muscles and neck rotation angle between conditions with and without visual biofeedback (p>.05). CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that visual biofeedback may be effective for axial rotation of cervical spine during neck rotation in adults with forward head posture.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.47-54
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to compare the immediate effects of upper trapezius muscle stretching in more tensed position (MTP) and less tensed position (LTP) on the change of range of motion (ROM) for neck rotation, and the ROM for conjunct neck motions at end-range of neck rotation toward the painful side in patients with unilateral neck pain. Eighteen patients with unilateral neck pain were recruited for the study's MTP group, and 18 age-, weight- and gender-matched patients with unilateral neck pain were recruited for LTP group. The ROM changes in active neck primary and conjunct motions were measured using a cervical ROM inclinometer in the sitting position. Our results showed that both upper trapezius stretching method in MTP and LTP were significantly effective in increasing the ROM of neck rotation toward painful side in patients with unilateral neck pain. However, a significantly greater increase in the ROM for neck rotation and a further decrease in conjunct neck extension during neck rotation toward the painful side were shown in MTP group, compared to LTP group. The upper trapezius stretching in MTP is useful in increasing the ROM of neck rotation and decreasing the range of conjunct neck extension during neck rotation toward the painful side in patients with unilateral neck pain.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.103-113
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• 1990

The role of cervical proprioceptors in the control of body posture was studied in bilaterally labyrinth-ectomized, decerebrate cats. The animals were suspended on hip pins with the neck extended horizontally. With this placement the EMG activities of extensor and flexor muscles of the upper extremities were observed by means of sinusoidal head rotator. The rotator can induce two kinds of neck movement: The one is 'pitch' which describes a rotatory neck motion to transverse axis of the body and mainly occurs at skull-C1 (atlantooccipital) joint and the other is 'roll', side-to-side relation of the neck to longitudinal axis, whose center is C1-C2 (atlanto-axial) joint. The following results were obtained. 1) Responses of EMG activity were closely dependent on the rotatory range of the neck. And the EMG activity was not changed during sustained neck torsion, eliciting a typical tonic neck reflex. 2) On pitching movement, the head-up rotation produced the excitation of bilateral triceps muscles, whereas the head-down rotation produced the inhibition. And the response of bilateral biceps muscles was the opposite to that of triceps. 3) On rolling movement, the side-up rotation of the head produced the excitation of ipsilateral triceps muscles and the inhibition of contralateral ones. And the response of biceps muscles was the opposite to that of triceps. 4) The minimum requirement of motion to evoke EMG activities in the upper extremities was $3.2^{\circ}{\sim}12.5^{\circ}$. These results have shown that the cervical proprioceptors produce tonic discharge on the upper brachial muscles, regulate the EMG activities of those muscles, and are very sensitive to neck rotation. And it can be stated that the cervical proprioceptors may play an important role in the control of body posture and movement.

• Journal of Korean Physical Therapy Science
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.11-17
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• 2015

Background : The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of taping on the neck rotation angle in the elderly. Methods : The twenty-eight elderly aged over 60 and twenty-seven college students participated in the study. In both groups, neck rotation angles were measured through CROM before and after taping. SPSS 18.0 was used for data analysis. Results : The results indicated that both groups showed significant increases in the neck rotation angles of the affected side after taping. However, there was no significant difference in the rotation angle of both neck regions after taping. The variation of the student group was higher than that of the elderly group after taping. Conclusion : We think that taping can be effective in balancing the neck muscles of both sides and in increasing the rotation angle of the neck.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.116-123
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• 2021

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of myofascial decompressiontherapy using moving suction on body temperature, pain, neck disability index, and cervical rotation for young adult with nonspecific neck pain. Design: Two-group pretest-posttest design. Methods: The subjects were randomly assigned 22 patients with chronic cervical pain who met the study conditions to the experimental group (n=11) and the control group (n=11). In the experimental group, the myofascial decompressiontherapy (MDT) was performed for 10 minutes using moving suction withnegative 15 mmHg pressure from the insertion to the origin of the upper trapezius muscle, while the control group without negative pressure. In order to investigate the effects of the intervention, an infrared thermometer, a visual analogue scale, neck disability index, and goniometer were used. Results: As a result of comparing the pre- and post- changes in each group according to the intervention, skin temperature, pain, neck disability index, and cervical rotation in both the experimental and control groups were significantly improved (p<0.05). Comparison of pre- and post- changes between the experimental and control groups showed significant differences for pain and cervical rotation (p<0.05), but no significant difference was found in the body temperature and neck disability index. Conclusions: Based on the results, MDT using moving suction was effective in reducing pain and increasing of cervical rotation for young adult with nonspecific neck pain.

• PNF and Movement
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.177-183
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• 2016

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of neck patterns in proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) for neck movement and the neck disability index (NDI) among adults with forward head posture. Methods: Thirty-nine subjects were randomly assigned into two groups. Subjects in the proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation exercise group (PNFG, n = 20) received 20 minutes of PNF neck pattern (flexion-Rt. lateral flexion-Rt. rotation followed by extension-Lt. lateral flexion-Lt. rotation) 3 times weekly for 4 weeks. Outcomes were measured using absolute rotation angle (ARA), anterior weight bearing (AWB), range of flexion and extension motions (RFEM), and neck disability index (NDI) methods before and after the 4-week intervention period. Results: There were significant effects for the PNFG, pre- and post-intervention, in ARA, AWB, RFEM, and NDI. There were significant differences in ARA, AWB, RFEM, and NDI compared with CG. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest the PNF neck pattern could be beneficial for adults with forward head posture.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapy
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.1-8
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• 2010

Purpose : The purpose of this study was to evaluate the Influence of Infra red(IR) and myofascial release(MRF) on the range of motion and pain in persons with neck pain. Methods : 24 subjects with neck pain participated in the experiment. All subject randomly assigned to the IR group and MFR group. Both groups receive 10minutes, 3 times per week during 3 weeks period. laser exercise(LEX) used to measure range of motion of neck and visual analog scale(VAS) used to measure pain. All measurements of each subject were measured at pre-treatment and post-treatment. Results : 1. The neck flexion, extension, right-sidebending, left-rotation, right-rotation range of motion of MFR group was significantly increased.(P<0.05). 2. The neck left-sidebending, left-rotation, right-rotation range of motion of IR group was significantly increased.(P<0.05). 3. As to compare two group, MFR group increases ROM more than IR group. Conclusion : These data suggests that MFR is more beneficial than IR.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.101-106
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• 2020

Purpose: This study examined the effects of the directions of neck rotation on the muscle activity of the upper trapezius and lower trapezius while rotating a shoulder externally. Methods: Twenty-five healthy males participated in this study. The subjects were asked to rotate their shoulder externally with 90° shoulder abduction and 90° elbow flexion in three different neck rotations (neutral, ipsilateral, and contralateral) in the prone position. The muscle activities of the upper and lower trapezius were measured using surface electromyography. One way repeated measures ANOVA was used to compare the muscle activity of the upper and lower trapezius depending on the different neck turning directions. Results: In the upper trapezius, turning the neck in the ipsilateral direction while turning a shoulder externally decreased the muscle activity significantly, but the muscle activity was increased significantly by turning the neck in the contralateral direction. On the other hand, in the lower trapezius, turning the neck in the ipsilateral direction increased the muscle activity significantly, but the muscle activity was decreased significantly by turning the neck in the contralateral direction decreased it significantly. Conclusion: When someone has an imbalance of shoulder function, turning the neck in the ipsilateral direction while turning the shoulder externally in the prone position is effective in decreasing the activity of the upper trapezius and increasing the activity of the lower trapezius. Therefore, these results could be used as basic evidence for researching patients with shoulder problems.