Activation of Neck and Low-Back Muscles Is Reduced with the Use of a Neck Balance System Together with a Lumbar Support in Urban Drivers

• Published in: PloS one 2015-10, Vol.10 (10), p.e0141031-e0141031
• Main Authors: Menotti, Federica, Labanca, Luciana, Laudani, Luca, Giombini, Arrigo, Pigozzi, Fabio, Macaluso, Andrea
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acceleration; Activation; Activities of daily living; Adult; Automobile Driving; Back Muscles - physiology; Back pain; Chairs; Consent; Contraction; Deceleration; Electromyography; EMG; Ergonomics - instrumentation; Fuel consumption; Head and neck; Health sciences; Humans; Inertial sensing devices; Lumbar Vertebrae; Male; Muscle contraction; Muscle function; Muscles; Neck Muscles - physiology; Neck pain; Orthopedic appliances; Posture; Sensors; Sitting position; Studies; Visual perception; Weight-Bearing
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0141031

Driving is associated with high activation of low-back and neck muscles due to the sitting position and perturbations imposed by the vehicle. The aim of this study was to investigate the use of a neck balance system together with a lumbar support on the activation of low-back and neck muscles during driving. Twelve healthy male subjects (age 32±6.71 years) were asked to drive in two conditions: 1) with devices; 2) without devices. During vehicle accelerations and decelerations root mean square (RMS) of surface electromyography (sEMG) was recorded from the erector spinae, semispinalis capitis and sternocleidomastoid muscles and expressed as a percentage of maximal voluntary contraction (MVC). The pitch of the head was obtained by means of an inertial sensor placed on the subjects' head. A visual analog scale (VAS) was used to assess the level of perceived comfort. RMS of the low back muscles was lower with than without devices during both acceleration and deceleration of the vehicle (1.40±0.93% vs 29 2.32±1.90% and 1.88±1.45% vs 2.91±2.33%, respectively), while RMS of neck extensor muscles was reduced only during acceleration (5.18±1.96% vs 5.91±2.16%). There were no differences between the two conditions in RMS of neck flexor muscles, the pitch of the head and the VAS score. The use of these two ergonomic devices is therefore effective in reducing the activation of low-back and neck muscles during driving with no changes in the level of perceived comfort, which is likely due to rebalancing weight on the neck and giving a neutral position to lumbar segments.