Isometric Exercises With And Without Pressure Biofeedback In Computer Users With Cervical Spine Overload

Two-way repeated measure analysis variance was used to examine the within and between groups difference of the outcome measures, and the group x time interaction. Pearson’s correlation coefficient was used to determine the correlation between EMG amplitude and torque production during maximal isokinetic flexion and extension for evaluation of the changes in the neuromuscular efficiency. Measurement of the cross-sectional area of each muscle was taken twice and the mean was used for analysis. For longus colli, participants were placed in supine with head supported by a pillow. Level C4 in anterior neck was estimated and marked by posterior neck palpation.

Along with a range of motion exercises , managing neck arthritis pain can be greatly enhanced if you strengthen your muscles. This is because when muscles meant to support the spine are too weak to fulfill their responsibility, pressure and compression result. Most muscle strengthening exercises involve moving the joints, using the muscles to push or pull against resistance. However, isometric exercises involve holding static positions for long periods of time.

If you’re lying down, put a 2” to 3” rolled towel under your neck for support and comfort. Many exercise regimens will include some isometric movements, along with more dynamic exercises. Many strength building exercises involve concentric or eccentric movements, which are both isotonic contractions. Concentric movements cause the muscle to shorten, and eccentric movements lengthen the muscle. Passive stretching increases hamstring extensibility and decreases passive stiffness, with no change in stretch tolerance defined by pain intensity during the stretch, with the volume of stretching higher in this study. I recommend doing this exercise with your palms up because it helps the shoulder blades maintain a better position.

If you would like to see if exercises can help relieve any neck and/or shoulder pain you are experiencing, it is always beneficial to have your condition evaluated by a health care professional. It is always best to have the program include clear goals, including ergonomics and additional ways to improve postural muscle balance, stretches as well as any strengthening exercises. Findings of the present study showed that VSE were comparable with IE in improving neck functions and performance. VSE might be superior to IE in promoting efficiency of superficial neck muscle in torque generation. It had been shown by various studies that IE were effective in improving neck functions and reducing neck pain intensity, and hence they were prescribed to participants with neck pain . With the findings from this study, VSE might serve as an alternative to IE in neck training and rehabilitation.

While you can recognize when your neck hurts or is stiff, a weak neck can have other symptoms that are not as obvious. In addition to discomfort in the neck itself, you may have headaches, dizziness or problems with your joint and jaw muscles . You also may have pain or weakness in your arms or AC joint impingement in the shoulder.

However, isotonic neck exercises, which shared the similar nature to VSE except for the standardised execution speed, were found to be effective for improvements in neck muscle strength. Conley et al. found a 34% improvement of neck muscle strength in healthy participants when isotonic neck extension exercises were added to a 12-week general strengthening program. Mansell et al. reported a 15% and 22% improvement in isometric flexion and extension Otago exercise programme strength respectively in a cohort of soccer players, after completing a 8-week isotonic neck exercise program. The extents of the improvements were comparable to the extent of increase in isokinetic strength in flexion (23%) and extension (16%) in VSE group revealed in our study.

However, due to the practical limitation, it was not possible to use intramuscular EMG to directly record the deep neck muscle activity level during movement testing of the present study. Superficial neck muscles contribute in neck movement force generation while deep neck muscles act as primary neck stabilizers . If there was a same peak superficial muscle EMG amplitude between two people but one needed compensation by superficial muscles, the force generation would be less effective. The association between torque production and peak EMG amplitude would become lower, implying an impaired neuromuscular efficiency.

As I just mentioned, constantly being in front of a screen is a huge culprit of having neck problems. Using a screen can consist of anything from watching TV, using computers, laptops or cell phones, and includes video games for kids. Following are a few other pathologies that can create some cervical or neck injuries. Combining these treatments is recommended as the initial approach to treating patellofemoral pain but further individualized more functional, global treatment is essential. If you want to make the shoulder squeeze a heavy-duty workout, add an exercise band (Figure 11-16).