Influence of Cervical Spine Mobility on the Focal and Postural Components of the Sit-to-Stand Task

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the influence of cervical spine mobility on the focal and postural components of the sit-to-stand transition, which represent the preparatory and execution phases of the task, respectively. Sixteen asymptomatic female participants (22 ± 3 years, 163 ± 0,06 cm, 57,5 ± 5 kg), free of any neurological or musculoskeletal disorders, performed six trials of the sit-to-stand task at maximum speed, in four experimental conditions varying the mobility of the cervical spine by means of three different splints. A six-channel force plate, which collected the reaction forces and moments applied at its top surface, was used to calculate the center of pressure displacements along the anterior-posterior and medial-lateral axes. The local accelerations of the head, spine, and pelvis, were assessed by three pairs of accelerometers, oriented along the vertical and anterior-posterior axes. Restriction of cervical spine mobility resulted in an increased duration of the focal movement, associated with longer and larger postural adjustments. These results suggest that restricted cervical spine mobility impairs the posturo-kinetic capacity during the sit-to-stand task, leading to a lower motor performance and a reorganization of the anticipatory postural adjustments. In a clinical context, it might be assumed that preserving the articular free play of the cervical spine might be useful to favor STS performance and autonomy.

Decreased respiratory-related postural perturbations at the cervical level under cognitive load

“…This compensatory adaptation may stem from the necessity to improve visual, vestibular and neck proprioceptive afferent feedback efficiency (Bove et al 2009;Williams et al 2017;Malmström et al 2017) during a high-load cognitive task (Huxhold et al 2006;Lacour et al 2008) , which is known to compromise balance by diverting attentional prefrontal resources (Mihara et al 2008;Stelzel et al 2018) that are primarily dedicated to the control of balance and anticipatory adjustments of the cervical curvature (Hamaoui and Alamini-Rodrigues 2017;Boulanger et al 2017). Consequently, the stability of the cervical spine, which is known to play an important role in the maintenance of balance (see also Introduction section) (Gandelman-Marton et al 2016;Hamaoui and Alamini-Rodrigues 2017) , is probably crucial when cortical resources are challenged. Likewise, in COPD patients, who often recruit their respiratory neck muscles, pathologic breathing-related neck stabilization in dual-task settings may represent one of the physiopathological mechanisms of their specific postural dysfunction (Janssens et al 2014).…”

“…Permanent adjustments of the cervical curvature during standing are needed to preserve an adequate head-to-pelvis alignment, which is essential for balance (Vital and Senegas 1986;Dubousset 1994;Amabile et al 2018) , as well as to maintain the head position and a horizontal gaze (Hasegawa et al 2017), which are important for the transmission of the appropriate visual, vestibular and neck proprioceptive afferent feedback signals (Bove et al 2009;Williams et al 2017;Malmström et al 2017) . These adjustments of the cervical curvature are anticipated during tasks requiring attention, such as complex visual (Boulanger et al 2017) or motor tasks (Hamaoui and Alamini-Rodrigues 2017) , as evidenced by prefrontal cortex recruitment, which indicates their central nature (Jahn et al 2004;Taube et al 2008;Mihara et al 2008). Therefore, even though it is a part of the postural chain involved in the PV interaction, the cervical spine is centrally modulated by predominant "nonrespiratory" cortical adjustments, which may compete with the central control of the PV interaction.…”

“…Compared to other joints in the postural chain, the cervical spine directly supports the head and is highly involved in the regulation of its position in space. It plays a crucial role in the maintenance of balance, as suggested by its role in sit-to-stand tasks (Hamaoui and Alamini-Rodrigues 2017) and by the presence of impaired stabilometric parameters in patients with a history of moderate neck trauma (Gandelman-Marton et al 2016) or neck pain (Quek et al 2018) . In addition, changing the orientation of the head during tracking requires a synergy between the most inferior joints and the cervical spine for an individual to maintain balance (Park et al 2012).…”

Effects of stretching exercises on human gait: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…The successful completion of numerous daily life activities is conditioned by the ability to move efficiently through a sufficient range of motion (ROM) 15 . Recent studies on gait initiation [16][17][18] and seat-to-stand task 19,20 showed that the experimental restriction of postural chain ROM induced by orthosis wear in young healthy adults led to instability and lower motor performance. It is well established that ROM significantly decreases with aging [21][22][23][24][25][26] and more generally with reduced functional demand (e.g.…”

Short-Term Effects of Thoracic Spine Manipulation on the Biomechanical Organisation of Gait Initiation: A Randomized Pilot Study

“…This PKC concept was substantiated by experimental studies which investigated the relationship between postural chain mobility, APA and motor performance during various motor tasks such as isometric ramp push (Le Bozec and Bouisset, 2004 ), pointing (Lino et al, 1992 ; Teyssèdre et al, 2000 ), and more recently, trunk flexion (Diakhaté et al, 2013 ) or sit-to-stand (Diakhaté et al, 2013 ; Alamini-Rodrigues and Hamaoui, 2016 ; Hamaoui and Alamini-Rodrigues, 2017a , b ). In these studies, postural chain mobility was varied by changing the seat-thigh contact (Teyssèdre et al, 2000 ; Le Bozec and Bouisset, 2004 ; Diakhaté et al, 2013 ), by increasing the muscular tension along the torso (Hamaoui et al, 2004 , 2011 ; Hamaoui and Le Bozec, 2014 ) or by restraining the spine mobility at different levels by means of splints (Alamini-Rodrigues and Hamaoui, 2016 ; Hamaoui and Alamini-Rodrigues, 2017a , b ). These studies showed that the restriction of the postural chain mobility, and especially the spine mobility, has a negative influence on APA and motor performance.…”