A comparison of nocturnal upper trapezius muscle activity between chronic neck pain patients with sleep disturbance and healthy participants

• Published in: Sleep & breathing 2024-03, Vol.28 (1), p.95-102
• Main Authors: Aldabbas, Mosab M., Tanwar, Tarushi, Iram, Iram, Salman, Mohammad, Veqar, Zubia
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Chronic pain; Cross-Sectional Studies; Dentistry; Electromyography; Eye movements; Healthy Volunteers; Humans; Internal Medicine; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Muscle function; Muscles; Neck; Neck pain; Neck Pain - diagnosis; Neurology; NREM sleep; Otorhinolaryngology; Pediatrics; Pneumology/Respiratory System; REM sleep; Sleep; Sleep - physiology; Sleep and wakefulness; Sleep Breathing Physiology and Disorders • Original Article; Sleep Wake Disorders - diagnosis; Statistical analysis; Superficial Back Muscles; Trapezius muscle
• ISSN: 1520-9512; 1522-1709
• DOI: 10.1007/s11325-023-02867-4

Background Sleep disturbances frequently occur in patients with chronic neck pain. In these patients, upper trapezius muscle dysfunction is observed during sleep. This study aimed to evaluate the trapezius muscle activity during sleep among patients with chronic neck pain and sleep disturbances for comparison with healthy subjects.  Study design Cross-sectional study. Methods Patients with chronic neck pain and healthy subjects participated in the study. Two overnight polysomnography recordings were conducted for each subject. Surface electromyography was utilized to record the nocturnal activity of the right and left upper trapezius muscles throughout the night. The nocturnal upper trapezius activity recording was divided into the following parts: wakefulness, rapid eye movement sleep (REM), and non-rapid eye movement sleep (NREM). The nocturnal activity during NREM sleep was further divided into three parts (stage I NREM sleep, stage II NREM, and stage III NREM. Normalization of EMG signals was performed. The normalized value of nocturnal activity was derived for analysis. Results Among 15 patients with chronic neck pain and 15 healthy subjects, statistically significant differences were observed in the nocturnal activity of the upper trapezius. Compared to healthy subjects, the nocturnal activity of the upper trapezius was significantly higher during wakefulness, REM sleep, and NREM II and III sleep in patients with chronic neck pain and sleep disturbances. Conclusion There was higher nocturnal upper trapezius activity in patients with chronic neck pain compared to healthy controls. The findings suggest a possible pathophysiological mechanism that may relate to chronic neck pain. Trial registration CTRI/2019/09/021028.