Physiotherapy Department, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Am J Phys Med Rehabil. 2011 Apr;90(4):293-301. doi: 10.1097/PHM.0b013e31820173e5.
The aim of this study was to investigate bilateral differences in the cross-sectional area (CSA) and shape ratio of the longus colli muscle between subjects with mechanical neck pain and healthy controls.
A case-control cohort study was conducted. Bilateral ultrasound images of the longus colli muscle at the thyroid (C5-C6) level were conducted in 20 patients with mechanical bilateral chronic neck pain and 20 controls by an assessor blinded to the subjects' condition. CSA, anterior-posterior dimension (APD), lateral dimension (LD), and shape ratio (LD/APD) were measured.
The intraclass correlation coefficients (3,1) were above 0.86 for within-day and above 0.81 for between-day intraexaminer reliability. Patients with mechanical neck pain showed bilateral smaller CSA (P < 0.001) and APD (P = 0.004) as compared with controls. Muscle shape and LD were not different between groups (P = 0.092 and P = 0.963, respectively). Women exhibited smaller bilateral CSA as compared with men (P < 0.01). CSA was negatively associated with self-reported disability, whereas APD was negatively associated with intensity of neck pain: the greater the self-reported disability or the pain intensity, the smaller the bilateral CSA or APD of the longus colli muscle.
The longus colli muscle exhibited smaller bilateral CSA and APD, but not LD and shape ratio, in subjects with bilateral chronic neck pain as compared with healthy controls. Reduced CSA was negatively associated with self-reported disability and APD was negatively associated with the intensity of pain.
本研究旨在探讨机械性颈痛患者与健康对照组之间颈长肌横截面积（CSA）和形状比的双侧差异。
本研究采用病例对照队列研究。由一位评估者对 20 例双侧慢性机械性颈痛患者和 20 例健康对照者进行双侧颈长肌甲状腺（C5-C6）水平超声检查，评估者对患者的情况不知情。测量 CSA、前后径（APD）、横向径（LD）和形状比（LD/APD）。
组内相关系数（3,1）日内信度>0.86，日间信度>0.81。与对照组相比，机械性颈痛患者双侧 CSA（P<0.001）和 APD（P=0.004）均较小。两组间肌肉形状和 LD 无差异（P=0.092 和 P=0.963）。与男性相比，女性双侧 CSA 较小（P<0.01）。CSA 与自我报告的残疾程度呈负相关，而 APD 与颈痛强度呈负相关：自我报告的残疾程度或疼痛强度越大，双侧颈长肌 CSA 或 APD 越小。
与健康对照组相比，双侧慢性颈痛患者的颈长肌双侧 CSA 和 APD 较小，但 LD 和形状比无差异。CSA 减少与自我报告的残疾程度呈负相关，APD 与疼痛强度呈负相关。
