Effects of the Cranio-cervical Static Stabilization Exercises among the Using Small Tools

Abstract

| Abstract |1 )PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to determine the differences between the muscle activity of cranio-cervical flexion and extension muscles according to the types of tools used through a short-term intervention of cranio-cervical static stabilization exercises using small tools. METHODS:A total of fifteen male and female adults in their 20s who showed forward head posture in the overall body posture measurement system participated in this study. Each subject performed cranio-cervical static stabilization exercises about flexion and extension while using a sling, a foam roller, a TOGU ball, and without tools separately, and the muscle activity of the sternocleidomastoid muscle, scalenus anterior and splenius capitis was measured. Each value was measured for 10 seconds a total of three times. The maximum voluntary isometric contraction value was computed using the average during the middle four seconds. RESULTS:Cranio-cervical flexion exercises using various tool types, the average activity of the sternocleidomastoid and †Corresponding Author : rptgeon@naver.com This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. scalenus anterior muscles was significantly higher when applying the TOGU ball (p<.05). According to the results of implementing cranio-cervical flexion exercise using various tools, the maximum muscle activity of the sternocleidomastoid muscle was significantly higher for the TOGU ball (p<.05). CONCLUSION:Based on these results, the provision of an unstable surface using small tools rather than a stable surface is recommended as an exercise scheme for proprioceptive stimulation in a forward head posture.Particularly, we recommend using the TOGU ball for the provision of an unstable surface to increase the muscle activity of the sternocleidomastoid muscle and scalenus anterior.