1Department of Physical Therapy for Musculoskeletal Disorders and its Surgery, Faculty of Physical Therapy, Cairo University, Egypt
2Department of Physical Therapy for Neuromuscular Disorder and its Surgery, Faculty of Physical Therapy, Cairo University, Egypt
3Department of Biomechanics, Faculty of Physical Therapy, Cairo University, Egypt
*Corresponding e-mail: hamadabiomechanics@gmail.com
Online published on 15 November, 2018.
Mechanical neck pain is the most common type of neck pain and commonly to accompany with radiculopathy. Patients of neck pain exhibit greater activation of accessory muscles, (sternocleidomastoid, anterior scalene, and upper trapezius muscles) and may also show changed patterns of motor control of other postural muscles as pelvic muscles for reducing activation of painful muscles of neck
To determine if there is an association between gluteus maximus inhibition and overactivity of upper fibres of trapezius in patients with chronic mechanical neck pain with radiculopathy
Forty female patients participated in this study diagnosed as chronic mechanical neck pain with radiculopathy. Amplitude and onset of muscle activation were assessed by using the surface electromyography (EMG) during prone hip extension test
The results of this study demonstrated that there is no correlation between the amplitude of EMG activity of right and left gluteus maximus and the amplitude of EMG activity of right and left upper trapezius (P<0.05)
It can be concluded that the overactivity of the upper trapezius muscle in patients with chronic mechanical neck pain with radiculopathy is not related to the inhibition of the gluteus maximus muscle during prone hip extension test.
Mechanical neck pain, gluteus maximus, upper trapezius, surface electromyography
