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Abstract
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STUDY DESIGN: Descriptive cross-sectional study.
BACKGROUND: Cervical musculoskeletal and neuromuscular attributes, which may vary between men and women, influence an individual's capacity to stabilize their head.
OBJECTIVES: To examine sex differences in cervical musculoskeletal and neuromuscular attributes and their impact on head stability. The secondary objective was to examine the effects of anticipation and preload on head kinematics.
METHODS: Thirty-four (20 men, 14 women) recreationally-active adult athletes completed a perturbation protocol with anticipation and preloading conditions. We assessed the neuromuscular response of the sternocleidomastoid to perturbation and the head kinematics. We measured neck girth, sternocleidomastoid physiological cross-sectional area (PCSA), and isometric strength.
RESULTS: Women had smaller neck girth, smaller sternocleidomastoid PCSA, and lower isometric strength than men. Women had greater baseline electromyography (EMG) amplitude, and greater peak EMG response than men. There were no sex differences in sternocleidomastoid onset latency or head kinematics. Women had a greater increase in baseline EMG amplitude after introducing preload and under anticipated conditions. Preload attenuated sex differences in muscle onset latency. Across the sexes, there was a significant main effect of anticipation on head kinematics.
CONCLUSION: Men and women used different strategies to stabilize the head, and responded differently to the addition of preload and anticipation. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther, Epub 15 May 2019. doi:10.2519/jospt.2019.8760.
Language: en |