Sensorimotor disturbances in chronic neck pain—Range of motion, peak velocity, smoothness of movement, and repositioning acuity

Abstract The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate sensorimotor functions in patients with chronic neck pain with objective and quantitative methods. A group of 16 patients with chronic idiopathic neck pain of insidious onset or whiplash associated disorders (WAD) was compared to an equally si...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Manual therapy 2008-04, Vol.13 (2), p.122-131
Main Authors: Sjölander, Per, Michaelson, Peter, Jaric, Slobodan, Djupsjöbacka, Mats
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Biomechanical Phenomena
Case-Control Studies
Chronic Disease
Disability Evaluation
Female
Humans
Jerk
Male
MEDICIN
MEDICINE
Middle Aged
Motor control
Movement Disorders - diagnosis
Movement Disorders - physiopathology
Multivariate Analysis
Neck kinematics
Neck pain
Neck Pain - diagnosis
Neck Pain - physiopathology
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Physiotherapy
Pilot Projects
Proprioception
Range of Motion, Articular
Single-Blind Method
Sjukgymnastik
Whiplash
Whiplash Injuries - diagnosis
Whiplash Injuries - physiopathology
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Summary:Abstract The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate sensorimotor functions in patients with chronic neck pain with objective and quantitative methods. A group of 16 patients with chronic idiopathic neck pain of insidious onset or whiplash associated disorders (WAD) was compared to an equally sized group of healthy subjects. Kinematics were investigated during voluntary head rotations by measuring range of motion, variability of range of motion (ROM-Variability), peak velocity, and smoothness of movement (jerk index). Repositioning acuity after cervical rotations was evaluated by analysing constant and variable error (VE). In comparison to the healthy subjects, the patients showed significantly larger jerk index, ROM-Variability and VE. No statistically significant differences were found between insidious neck pain and WAD. It is concluded that jerky and irregular cervical movements and poor position sense acuity are characteristic sensorimotor symptoms in chronic neck pain. The observed individuality in sensorimotor disturbances emphasizes the importance of developing specific rehabilitation programs for specific dysfunctions, and of using objective and quantitative methods for evaluation of rehabilitation.
ISSN:1356-689X
1532-2769
1532-2769
DOI:10.1016/j.math.2006.10.002