TY - JOUR
T1 - Passive cervical spine flexion
T2 - The effect of age and gender
AU - Seacrist, Thomas
AU - Saffioti, Jami
AU - Balasubramanian, Sriram
AU - Kadlowec, Jennifer
AU - Sterner, Robert
AU - García-España, J. Felipe
AU - Arbogast, Kristy B.
AU - Maltese, Matthew R.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors would like to acknowledge Chuck Linderman and Neal Moran for their design and fabrication efforts for this project. Furthermore, the authors would like to acknowledge Dr. Jessica H. Mirman, PhD of the Center for Injury Research and Prevention for her assistance with the developmental and behavioral psychology literature. Finally, the authors would like to acknowledge the National Science Foundation (NSF) Center for Child Injury Prevention Studies at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) for sponsoring this study and its Industry Advisory Board (IAB) members for their support, valuable input and advice. The views presented are those of the authors and not necessarily the views of CHOP, the NSF, or the IAB members.
PY - 2012/5
Y1 - 2012/5
N2 - Background: Previous studies reported passive cervical range of motion under unknown loading conditions or with minimal detail of subject positioning. Additionally, such studies have not quantitatively ensured the absence of active muscle during passive measurements. For the purpose of validating biomechanical models the loading condition, initial position, and muscle activation must be clearly defined. A method is needed to quantify the passive range of motion properties of the cervical spine under controlled loading conditions, particularly in the pediatric population where normative clinical and model validation data is limited. Methods: Healthy female pediatric (6-12 years; n = 10), male pediatric (6-12 years; n = 9), female adult (21-40 years; n = 10), and male adult (20-36 years; n = 9) volunteers were enrolled. Subjects with restrained torsos and lower extremities were exposed to a maximum 1g inertial load in the posterior-anterior direction, such that the head-neck complex flexed when subjects relaxed their neck musculature. Surface electromyography monitored the level of muscle relaxation. A multi-camera 3-D target tracking system captured passive neck flexion angle of the head relative to the thoracic spine. General estimating equations detected statistical differences across age and gender. Findings: Passive cervical spine flexion equaled 111.0° (SD 8.0°) for pediatric females, 102.8° (SD 7.8°) for adult females, 103.8° (SD 12.7°) for pediatric males, and 93.7° (SD 9.9°) for adult males. Passive neck flexion significantly decreased with age in both genders (P < 0.01). Females exhibited significantly greater flexion than males (P < 0.01). Interpretation: This study contributes normative data for clinical use, biomechanical modeling, and injury prevention tool development.
AB - Background: Previous studies reported passive cervical range of motion under unknown loading conditions or with minimal detail of subject positioning. Additionally, such studies have not quantitatively ensured the absence of active muscle during passive measurements. For the purpose of validating biomechanical models the loading condition, initial position, and muscle activation must be clearly defined. A method is needed to quantify the passive range of motion properties of the cervical spine under controlled loading conditions, particularly in the pediatric population where normative clinical and model validation data is limited. Methods: Healthy female pediatric (6-12 years; n = 10), male pediatric (6-12 years; n = 9), female adult (21-40 years; n = 10), and male adult (20-36 years; n = 9) volunteers were enrolled. Subjects with restrained torsos and lower extremities were exposed to a maximum 1g inertial load in the posterior-anterior direction, such that the head-neck complex flexed when subjects relaxed their neck musculature. Surface electromyography monitored the level of muscle relaxation. A multi-camera 3-D target tracking system captured passive neck flexion angle of the head relative to the thoracic spine. General estimating equations detected statistical differences across age and gender. Findings: Passive cervical spine flexion equaled 111.0° (SD 8.0°) for pediatric females, 102.8° (SD 7.8°) for adult females, 103.8° (SD 12.7°) for pediatric males, and 93.7° (SD 9.9°) for adult males. Passive neck flexion significantly decreased with age in both genders (P < 0.01). Females exhibited significantly greater flexion than males (P < 0.01). Interpretation: This study contributes normative data for clinical use, biomechanical modeling, and injury prevention tool development.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84859099830&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84859099830&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.clinbiomech.2011.10.012
DO - 10.1016/j.clinbiomech.2011.10.012
M3 - Article
C2 - 22133530
AN - SCOPUS:84859099830
SN - 0268-0033
VL - 27
SP - 326
EP - 333
JO - Clinical Biomechanics
JF - Clinical Biomechanics
IS - 4
ER -