Neuromuscular Research Lab, Interdisciplinary Centre for the Study of Human Performance (CIPER), Faculty of Human Kinetics, University of Lisbon, Oeiras, 1499-002 Lisbon, Portugal.
Egas Moniz Center for Interdisciplinary Research (CiiEM), Egas Moniz School of Health & Science, Caparica, 2829-511 Almada, Portugal.
Sensors (Basel). 2024 Sep 1;24(17):5689. doi: 10.3390/s24175689.
Cervical pain has been linked to increased motor unit activity, potentially associated with the initiation and progression of chronic neck pain. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the time-course changes in cervical superficial muscle activation patterns among dental students with and without neck pain throughout their initial semester of clinical training. We used an online Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire for group allocation between neck pain (NP) ( = 21) and control group (CG) ( = 23). Surface electromyography (sEMG) of the sternocleidomastoid and upper bilateral trapezius was recorded before starting their clinical practice and after their first semester while performing a cranio-cervical flexion test (CCFT) in five increasing levels between 22 mmHg and 30 mmHg. After the first semester, both the CG ( < 0.001) and NP ( = 0.038) groups showed decreased sternocleidomastoid activation. The NP group exhibited a concomitant increase in upper trapezius coactivation ( < 0.001), whereas the muscle activation pattern in asymptomatic students remained unchanged ( = 0.980). During the first semester of clinical training, dental students exhibited decreased superficial flexor activity, but those with neck pain had increased co-contraction of the upper trapezius, likely to stabilize the painful segment. This altered activation pattern could be associated with further dysfunction and symptoms, potentially contributing to chronicity.
颈部疼痛与运动单位活动增加有关，这可能与慢性颈部疼痛的发生和发展有关。因此，本研究旨在比较在临床培训初始阶段，有和无颈部疼痛的牙科学生的颈部浅表肌肉激活模式的时间变化。我们使用在线北欧肌肉骨骼问卷将学生分为颈部疼痛组（NP）（=21）和对照组（CG）（=23）。在开始临床实践之前和第一学期结束时，在进行颅颈屈曲测试（CCFT）时，记录胸锁乳突肌和双侧上斜方肌的表面肌电图（sEMG），测试共在 22mmHg 和 30mmHg 之间的 5 个递增水平进行。第一学期后，CG 组（<0.001）和 NP 组（=0.038）的胸锁乳突肌激活均减少。NP 组表现出上斜方肌协同收缩的同时增加（<0.001），而无症状学生的肌肉激活模式保持不变（=0.980）。在临床培训的第一学期，牙科学生表现出浅层屈肌活动减少，但颈部疼痛患者的上斜方肌协同收缩增加，可能是为了稳定疼痛部位。这种改变的激活模式可能与进一步的功能障碍和症状有关，可能导致慢性化。
