The influence of different sitting postures on head/neck posture and muscle activity.
To date the influence that specific sitting posture has on the head/neck posture and cervico-thoracic muscle activity has been insufficiently investigated. Therefore the aim of this study was to investigate whether three different thoraco-lumbar sitting postures affect head/neck posture and cervico-thoracic muscle activity. Twenty (10 men, 10 women) asymptomatic subjects were placed in 3 standardized thoraco-lumbar sitting postures (lumbo-pelvic, thoracic upright and slump) to investigate their influence on cervico-thoracic muscle activity and head/neck posture. There were significant differences in lumbar and thoracic curvatures in the 3 different sitting postures (P<0.002). Slump sitting was associated with greater head/neck flexion, anterior translation of the head (P<0.001) and increased muscle activity of cervical erector spinae (CES) compared to thoracic and lumbo-pelvic sitting (P=0.001). Thoracic upright sitting showed increased muscle activity of thoracic erector spinae (TES) compared to slump and lumbo-pelvic postures (P=0.015). Upper trapezius (UT) demonstrated no significant difference in muscle activation in the 3 sitting postures (P<0.991). This study demonstrates that different sitting postures affect head/neck posture and cervico-thoracic muscle activity. It highlights the potential importance of thoraco-lumbar spine postural adjustment when training head/neck posture.
Caneiro
Joao Paulo
JP
School of Physiotherapy, Curtin University of Technology, Western Australia, Australia. jpcaneiro@hotmail.com <jpcaneiro@hotmail.com>
O'Sullivan
Peter
P
Burnett
Angus
A
Barach
Avi
A
O'Neil
David
D
Tveit
Orjan
O
Olafsdottir
Karolina
K
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D002908:Chronic Disease; D004576:Electromyography; D005260:Female; D006257:Head / Q000502:physiology*; D019416:Head Movements / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008161:Lumbosacral Region / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000502:physiology*; D009333:Neck / Q000502:physiology*; D009334:Neck Muscles / Q000502:physiology; D019547:Neck Pain / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D011187:Posture / Q000502:physiology*; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular; D012399:Rotation; D013909:Thorax / Q000502:physiology*