Article

OBJECTIVE: To investigate neck muscle activity and postural control in patients
with whiplash-associated disorder compared with healthy controls. DESIGN:
Cross-sectional study with convenience sampling. SUBJECTS: Ten females with
whiplash-associated disorder (age 37.7 years (21-58), neck pain > 2 years and
neck disability index (NDI) > 10) and 10 healthy female controls (age 35.9 years
(21-53), NDI < 6). METHODS: Surface electromyography measured muscle activity of
the anterior scalene, sternocleidomastoid, neck extensors and upper trapezius
muscles, expressed as mean relative activity related to maximum voluntary
electromyography (%MVE).
On a force plate, 3 balance tasks (Romberg stance with
open and closed eyes, 1-legged stance) and a perturbation task with sudden
unloading, were performed.
The total area, areas from slow and fast components,
and range of displacements were calculated from decomposed centre of pressure
anterior-posterior and medial-lateral signals. RESULTS:
During balance tasks with
closed eyes and one-legged stance, the relative mean activity of all 4 muscles
was significantly increased in whiplash-associated disorder compared with healthy
controls. Postural sway was also significantly increased. CONCLUSION: Increased
neck muscle activity and increased postural sway during simple balance tasks
indicate disturbed sensory feedback patterns in people with whiplash-associated
disorder, which may have negative consequences when performing daily activities.

Langue : ANGLAIS