Effect Of Isometric Exercises On Pain And Disability In Patients With Chronic Neck Pain

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.

Press into it by trying to turn your head to the right, but use your hand to prevent the rotation. To do an isometric contraction for the muscles in the front of your neck , put your hands on your forehead (Figure 11-1). Press into your hands with your anterior neck muscles, but stop your head from moving with your hands. Many of these exercises use isometric contraction; that is, you contract your muscles without allowing movement.

Pinch the shoulder blades together and lift the hands off the floor. In cases of extreme forward head posture, a person may not be able to pull the head all the way back to the door jamb when first starting. In these cases, it is advisable to pull the head back as far as possible without pain. After initially performing the chin tuck exercise in a door jamb and becoming comfortable with it, the exercise can eventually be done standing or sitting without a door jamb.

Hold this contracted isometric state for three to five deep, slow breaths. You should not push your head to the left because this can strain the muscles. On the last exhale, relax, allowing your head to turn farther to the left (Figure 11-6). Post-isometric stretches can be performed with any muscle to increase flexibility. Football players often stretch their hamstrings using isometric contractions. These neck exercises can be done while you are seated or standing.

These exercises will also improve your ability to function in daily life and make maintaining good posture easier. Proper posture involves maintaining a neutral head position, with your ears aligned directly over your shoulders when viewed from the side. This orients the weight of your head directly over your spine, minimizing stress on the cervical spine, discs and ligaments in your neck.

Office work is a kind of job that demands sitting for prolonged time requiring the use of computer. These two factors are mainly responsible for overloading of the spine. Neck pain and computer users are clearly connected due to extended periods of sitting in a certain position with no breaks to stretch the neck muscles. Prolonged computer use with neck bent forward will cause the anterior neck muscles to gradually get shorter and tighter, while the muscles in the back of neck will grow longer and weaker. Neck problem also accounts for a large proportion of occupational illness and disability. Neck pain is common among computer workers in our country and contributes importantly to the demand for medical services and the economic burden of absence from work due to sickness.

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 Otago exercise programme 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).