Relationship between sleep stages and nocturnal trapezius muscle activity

Abstract Objective : Former studies reported a relationship between increased nocturnal low level trapezius muscle activity and neck or shoulder pain but it has not been explored whether trapezius muscle relaxation is related to sleep stages. The goal of the present study was to investigate whether...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of electromyography and kinesiology 2015-06, Vol.25 (3), p.457-462
Main Authors: Müller, Christian, Nicoletti, Corinne, Omlin, Sarah, Brink, Mark, Läubli, Thomas
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Electroencephalography - methods
Electroencephalography - standards
Electromyography - methods
Electromyography - standards
EMG
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Polysomnography
Polysomnography - methods
Polysomnography - standards
Sleep quality
Sleep stages
Sleep Stages - physiology
Superficial Back Muscles - physiology
Trapezius
Young Adult
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Abstract Objective : Former studies reported a relationship between increased nocturnal low level trapezius muscle activity and neck or shoulder pain but it has not been explored whether trapezius muscle relaxation is related to sleep stages. The goal of the present study was to investigate whether trapezius muscle activity is related to different sleep stages, as measured by polysomnography. Methods : Twenty one healthy subjects were measured on four consecutive nights in their homes, whereas the first night served as adaptation night. The measurements included full polysomnography (electroencephalography (EEG), electrooculography (EOG), electromyography (EMG) and electrocardiography (ECG)), as well as surface EMG of the m. trapezius descendens of the dominant arm. Results : Periods with detectable EMG activity of the trapezius muscle lasted on average 1.5% of the length of the nights and only in four nights it lasted longer than 5% of sleeping time. Neither rest time nor the length of periods with higher activity levels of the trapezius muscle did significantly differ between sleep stages. Conclusions : We found no evidence that nocturnal trapezius muscle activity is markedly moderated by the different sleep stages. Thus the results support that EMG measurements of trapezius muscle activity in healthy subjects can be carried out without concurrent polysomnographic recordings.
ISSN:1050-6411
1873-5711
DOI:10.1016/j.jelekin.2015.01.010